Research and innovation guide the debates of the 5th thematic axis of the CRES+5

Affirming that knowledge is as a universal human right and a public social good in Latin America and the Caribbean is the guiding principle of Axis 5 of the follow-up meeting of the Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES+5). It aims to discuss the role of scientific research, technology and innovation as drivers of human, social and economic development of the region. The Conference understands that the production, recognition and democratic transmission of knowledge are the basis of good living, sovereignty, emancipation and citizenship. Therefore, they cannot be separated from other fundamental rights.

Thematic axis 5 also proposes to put into debate the debate the need to develop new processes of evaluation, production and dissemination of knowledge. All with the new standards relevant to the development needs of countries in the region and taking into account the social context in which the Institutions of Higher Education are established.

Participants

The thematic axis will be led by the following consultants: Agustina Rodríguez Saá, rector of the National University of Comechingones, Argentina; Jorge Audy, Superintendent of Innovation and Development of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil; Osvaldo Corrales, rector of the University of Valparaíso, Chile; and René Ramírez Gallegos, principal researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and director of the Institute of Production, Economy and Work at the National University of Lanús, Argentina.

Base Document

The drafts of the base documents resulting from the activities of the Working Groups responsible for each thematic axis of CRES+5 are now available. The fourth preparatory meeting of the Conference took place in Havana, Cuba, on February 7th and 8th – where drafts of these documents were also discussed. The final version of which should be made available on the CRES+5 website by March 6th.

CRES+5
The CRES 2018 follow-up meeting has been organized by the Ministry of Education (MEC), through the Secretariat of Higher Education (Sesu) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), together with the UNESCO International Institute of Higher Education Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO-IESALC). The target audience of the Conference are rectors, directors, academics, workers, students, higher education networks, associations and professionals, research centers, unions, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations and all those interested in higher education in the continent.

CRES

The III Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES)- held in Córdoba (Argentina) in June 2018- adopted a Declaration and an Action Plan 2018-2028. After the World Conference on Higher Education in 2022, higher education actors in the region assessed the need to hold a follow-up meeting to the III CRES, aiming to promote a participatory process to highlight the progress achieved, as well as remaining challenges and issues emerging, especially related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The CRES+5 will be the implementation of this decision, allowing the analysis of the achievements of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time, it will establish priorities for the next Regional Conference on Higher Education, scheduled for 2028.

Advice on Social Communication from the MEC, with information from Sesu and UNESCO IESALC