Path to the Summit.

• Position: Fourth Summit of the Americas

The hemisphere's ministers of labor, agriculture, and education have met in recent weeks to develop policies designed to carry out common goals. Such meetings have helped lay the groundwork for the Fourth Summit of the Americas, which will take place November 4-5 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

The Fourth Summit will bring together thirty-four heads of state and government to focus on the theme of "Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance."

Through the Summits of the Americas, which have taken place periodically since 1994, the region's leaders establish shared commitments on key issues. The ministerial meetings adopt policies to implement mandates in specific sectors, evaluate the results achieved, and develop new strategies that complement the presidential initiatives.

Labor ministers from the OAS member states met in Mexico City in September to examine a range of issues related to globalization and employment. Major labor confederations and business associations, as well as the International Labor Organization, participated in the conference, which was chaired by Mexico's Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Francisco Javier Salazar.

"We shall endeavor to advance a labor agenda in our region that promotes dignified employment, placing the person in the center of all economic activities, as both the creator and beneficiary of work," the ministers affirmed in the Declaration of Mexico. In his remarks, Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza stressed the urgency of addressing the region's serious problems of poverty and inequality through job creation.

Insulza also spoke to the region's ministers of education in August, reminding them of ambitious Summit mandates in this area--such as ensuring that by 2010, all children have access to a complete, high-quality primary education.

"Our success as nations and as a hemisphere depends on our commitment to education. While we have made great strides in enrolling more of our nations' children in school, we have a long way to go toward fulfilling our goal of providing a quality education to every child and...