Veracruz, 20^th of November 2015

On the 19th and 20th of November, the universities, higher educational institutions, professional and thematic networks of the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, gathered in the H. Puerto de Veracruz, in the framework of the First Regional Meeting that reunited 105 representatives from 12 countries and supported by the Universidad Veracruzana, to state their intention to establish a space for academic and professional cooperation in favor of a quality education committed to development and social equity.

The Meeting expressed its pursuit to reach feasible agreement regarding international cooperation in the field of mobility, evaluation and accreditation, as well as developing new close links in network. The collective will implies reaching agreements in order to create the Common Space of Higher Education of Latin America and the Caribbean as a common university effort to converge institutional capacities, university talent and social creativity; thus, accepting the challenge of internationalization as a cooperative and supportive endeavor.

 The academic mobility is a cross axis that allows the exchange of interests and actors in favor of an education that is plural, cosmopolitan and deeply rooted in the cultural and intellectual traditions of the region. Universities set up the basis of this sociability architecture of university education and a guarantee of plurality and interculturality. The agreements made by the universities to establish a dynamic and inclusive mobility imply committing the political will of governments and international cooperation organisms, as well. We invite you to take part in this effort.

 The quality of the higher education assumes an unavoidable social commitment of the universities, private and public, while representing a development tool and a lever for social mobility. Being part of the knowledge society also means a cooperative effort to ensure that the quality of education generates knowledge and train competent and committed professional. Creating tools of information, validation and confidence are fundamental in generating resources and credibility in Latin American higher education.

 The requirements of education coverage, with academic quality, means using information and communication technology, as well: the Common Space of Online Higher Education is an essential tool to extend and share the educational provision. The partnerships that may be achieved among regional universities to establish a common system, increasing and articulating the in-person education with the online provision, is an opportunity of mobility, knowledge convergence and of pedagogical experiences.

University networks, institutional as well as thematic, are another tool of effective and plural cooperation; universities join efforts with social, governmental and business actors in order to face the challenges of our time. Cooperating as a network is a clear manifestation of the goodwill at heart. For the Universities Union of Latin America and the Caribbean, supporting the network means placing its relational capital up to the level of disposition required to create the space for higher education.

You are invited to the 10th International Congress of Higher Education 2016 being held on the 15th to 19th of February in La Habana, Cuba, where we shall take a decisive step forward in the formation of the Common Space of Higher Education of Latin America and the Caribbean in order to consolidate regional cooperation.

Finally, but not of less importance, the represented institutions will corroborate their commitment with the autonomous university as a guarantee of the social right to education. The Universidad Veracruzana calls for respect and support; we, the participants, express our support to its requests and the academic project.

We call a Caribbean, Central American and Mexican Regional Meeting, to be held in 2016 at the University of Puerto Rico, location Río Piedras, to follow up on the agenda of integration and regional cooperation.

H. Puerto Veracruz, 20 November 2015.

SOURCE: http://www.udual.org