- The Montevideo Group Association of Universities is meeting this week at the ECLAC’s office in Santiago. The activity gathers together representatives of more than 30 state universities of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The program is focused on the analysis of “Reformas Universitarias y nuevos desafíos en la región”. According to Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, the Universidad de Santiago’s highest authority and head of the activity, having been chosen by the Association to host the Council of Presidents’ meeting, “means recognition of our experience.”
The Montevideo Group Association of Universities (AUGM, in Spanish) has become one of the most significant groups in Latin America, as it gathers the most important state universities of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. This time, Universidad de Santiago is hosting the 67th meeting of the Montevideo Group‘s Council of Presidents.
The activity is being held (April 27th-28th) at the Raúl Prebisch conference room of the ECLAC’s office in Chile.
On this occasion and in a context in which the Chilean Education Reform is a “must” topic at debate, Universidad de Santiago organized the forum “Reformas universitarias y nuevos desafíos en la región” (University reforms and new challenges in the region), where representatives of different Latin American public universities, as well as authorities and national and foreign experts, will discuss the processes and challenges the university reform involves.
President Juan Manuel Zolezzi
According to Dr Juan Manuel Zolezzi, the Universidad de Santiago’s highest authority and head of the activity, having been chosen by the Association to host the Council of Presidents’ meeting, “means recognition of our experience.”
“We are part of almost all work committees of the Association and we head many of them, so this is in recognition of the work we have done,” President Zolezzi says, although he believes that the political and social context of our country adds “an attractive component”.
Dr Zolezzi considers that Chile and its Education Reform made unanimous the decision of having the meeting here. The university presidents of Latin America “have great interest in being at a country where a large Higher Education Reform is being made.”
“Every situation is unique and there are no recipes to implement a reform, but I think this debate will enlighten us,” Dr Zolezzi added.
International experience in state education
The Latin American meeting gathered university presidents with considerable experience and a very visible relation with their States. Dr Zolezzi says that “In most South American countries, free education is not part of the debate: it is a reality,” although he acknowledges that there are also experiences of private universities in different countries that are worth to know.
In President Zolezzi’s opinion, “Every situation is unique and there are no recipes to implement a reform, but I think this debate will enlighten us. We can agree with some of the systems that have been implemented but we can also disagree with others,” he says.
“The variety of approaches will be the most enriching thing of the activity. I think few people in this field in South America are not aware of what is happening in Chile, so I think this (meeting) will be a contribution to the development of our country.”
This forum precedes the Montevideo Group Council of Presidents meeting, in which a collaboration agreement between ECLAC and AUGM is expected to be signed.
Besides, the new president of this group will be elected, who will replace Dr Albor Cantard, President of Universidad Nacional del Litoral, in Argentina.
Finally, Universidad de Santiago de Chile will present the project “Biblioteca Latinoamericana de las Memorias” to the Council of Presidents.
Translated by Marcela Contreras
