Sustainable development will be debated at CRES+5

From March 13th to 15th, CRES+5 – follow-up meeting of the III Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES 2018) – will debate the contributions of the Higher Education system in Latin America and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, those related to the search for climate neutrality and its relationships with the social and economic challenges of the region. The work of Axis 6 also focuses on helping Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to incorporate the concept of sustainability in their strategic planning and on creating ways to measure the impacts of these actions – as well as strengthening the capacities of HEIs in the training of professionals who are aware and committed to the 2030 Agenda.

As a result of the work towards CRES+5, an evaluation of the innovative initiatives carried out since 2018 and the relevant impacts generated to achieve the SDGs is expected. It also seeks to propose specific sustainability measures potentially applicable to the different contexts in which HEIs are located in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Participants

The working group of axis 6 is led by: Elizabeth Bernal Gamboa, general secretary of the Colombian Association of Universities (ASCUN), Colombia; Carlos Hernando Forero Robayo, member of the Board of Directors of KAIRÓS-Educação, Colombia; Marisa de Talavera, director of Science, Technology and Culture Programs of the Andrés Bello Agreement (CAB), Panama; and Paulo Andrés Falcón, professor and researcher at the National University of Tucumán (UNT), 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- also discussed drafts of these documents. Its final version will be prepared by the WGs and will be available on the CRES+5 website by March 6th.

CRES+5

The CRES 2018 follow-up meeting is being 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 for Higher 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 – held in Córdoba (Argentina) in June 2018- adopted a Declaration and an Action Plan 2018-2028. After the 2022 World Conference on Higher Education, actors in the region evaluated the need to hold a follow-up meeting to the III CRES, the aim being to promote a participatory process to highlight the progress made, as well as the challenges and pending issues, especially related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The CRES+5 will be the implementation of this decision, allowing us to analyze 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