“Muévete por Panamá” Program: Literacy for Thousands

Since its creation in June 2007, the “Muévete por Panamá” program has literated approximately 84,798 people across the country, contributing to improving the quality of life for thousands of Panamanians. These women, who grew up without the opportunity to study and dedicated their lives to work, home, and family, are graduates of the literacy program “Muévete por Panamá”, which has literated 1,670 people in 2025. “Muévete por Panamá”, a program that moves forward with firm steps. In the first 18 months of public administration, the Ministry of Social Development has literated 2,304 people through the “Muévete por Panamá” program, based on the Cuban “Yo, Sí Puedo” method. The program lasts seven weeks, during which participants receive 65 classes that allow them to acquire basic skills, from writing their name to drafting simple texts, strengthening their autonomy and social participation. For decades, school was a closed door for them; today, more than 103 women, mostly older adults, will attend primary school for the first time thanks to “Mi Nueva Meta”, a program from the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). The program will also reach the community of Mortí, in the Kuna de Wargandí Comarca, with the participation of 24 women. The province of Panama has the highest number of literated people, with 512, followed by Bocas del Toro (349), Veraguas (312), and Chiriquí (273). In the Kuna de Madungandí Comarca, 29 people will participate, 28 of whom are women; while in the district of Chepo, 9 people will join, 6 of whom are women, reaffirming the female face of this educational transformation. “Muévete por Panamá” is part of the commitment of the Panamanian state and MIDES to restore citizen rights and provide opportunities to those who could not attend school, giving them a truly transformative tool: education. During the current year, “Mi Nueva Meta” was extended to the townships of 24 de Diciembre, in East Panama, and Buena Vista, in the province of Colón, which join Ancón, Chilibre, Santa Ana, Juan Díaz, and Ernesto Córdoba, in Central Panama, thus expanding its territorial reach. In smaller proportions are West Panama (294), the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca (205), Colón (189), and Darién (87), among other provinces. Thanks to the strategic alliance between MIDES and the Panamanian Institute of Education by Radio (IPER), the “Mi Nueva Meta” program benefits 120 people, 86.67% of whom are women who are entering the first, second, and third grades of the educational system. Of that total, 1,420 women—equivalent to 62.2%—mastered reading and writing. The initiative started last year as a pilot program, driven by the bet of Minister Beatriz Carles to go beyond literacy and guarantee educational continuity to those who never had the opportunity to study. Following its positive results, the program was expanded in 2026 to different points in the country, with the objective of providing more opportunities for academic improvement to the population historically excluded from the formal system. This inter-institutional coordination not only guarantees access to education but also opens real opportunities for improvement for those who were excluded from the formal teaching system for decades.