The 5th Annual PAL Network meeting was held in Xalapa, Mexico from 13th to 16th March 2017. The meeting was jointly hosted by Medición Independiente de Aprendizajes (MIA) and the PAL Network. The meeting provided structured opportunities for deep exploration of this years’ theme: ‘Power to the people’. The power of this movement lies in the fact that it is led by citizens themselves. Every year, more than 68,000 citizens volunteer to traverse some of the most difficult and remote terrain in their countries, walking from house to house to find out if children are learning. Citizen-led assessments are “owned” by ordinary people, local leaders, local NGOs and other partner organizations at local and national level. The PAL Network philosophy is simple. You cannot begin to find a solution without first PAL Network 5th Annual Meeting: Power to the People understanding the problem. Finding solutions is not just the responsibility of policymakers, government leaders, head teachers and others, but includes parents and local citizens. The citizen-led assessment model allows hundreds of thousands of citizens to experience and understand the problem first hand in their own communities.