Democracy in Quechua.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: Brief article

MILLIONS OF QUECHUA speakers who live in the South American Andes now have the possibility of reading the Inter-American Democratic Charter in their own language, thanks to a joint initiative of the OAS and the Ministry of Education of Peru. It is the first time the Democratic Charter has been translated into one of the indigenous languages of the Americas.

The translation is part of a broader effort under way in Peru to provide primary and secondary schoolteachers the materials they need to promote education in democratic values. That's a goal found in the Democratic Charter itself, which calls for strengthening a "democratic culture" in the Americas, with special attention to programs and activities for children and youth.

In Peru, the Education Ministry is developing an experimental program to train fifteen...