The Inter-American Congress on Educational Administration, which held its first meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, in December 1979, is a privately created international organization sponsored by several national educational organizations. The congress is intended as a forum for the cooperative study of educational administration by professionals throughout the Western hemisphere. The first meeting took as its theme the relationship of educational policies and administrative systems to a nation's economic, political, and cultural context. Special emphasis was placed on educational policies directed at rural and vocational concerns, and at needs for higher education. This paper, presenting the address opening the first meeting of the congress, provides an introduction to these themes and stresses the needs for international cooperation and for recognition of the unique nature of each country's situation. It is argued that the mere transportation of educational technology from one country to another is insufficient. (Author/PGD)