The General Hall of the San Marcos Cultural Center of the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM) in Lima, Peru, received 245 Higher Education representatives from 20 countries in the region, representing 2191 Higher Education Institutions.

They were invited to the official opening ceremony of the IX Meeting of Networks of Higher Education and Councils of Rectors of Latin America and the Caribbean organized by the UNESCO International Institute for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), with the support of the UNMSM and the National System of Evaluation, Accreditation and Certification of Educational Quality (SINEACE).

On March 13, 2019, after a tour of the facilities and museums of the Cultural Center, the opening ceremony began with words from the rector of the UNMSM, Orestes Cachay Boza, who welcomed the first public university of Peru and of Latin America: "that this space becomes a place to look for solutions for the region and contribute to constructive change (...) we want universities that solve problems in their communities, not mere reproducers of titles (...). The great challenges of the The region must be confronted with the implementation of the Action Plan of CRES 2018-2028, which is being implemented today in this meeting", he said.

Elio Iván Rodríguez Chávez, president of the Association of Universities of Peru (ASUP), rescued the history of the headquarters of the Encuentro, in whose spaces the struggle to integrate the university into society took place 100 years ago: "this meeting we take as a homage to the university reform that took place in Peru in 1919. We are in the very precincts of the great debates that took place in the balconies of the courtyard where the university youth met and where the great alliances between workers and students were woven ", he stressed.   José Dextre Chacón, director of the Federation of Private Institutions of Higher Education (FIPES), highlighted Peru's commitment to promoting access to higher education (ES) in accordance with the demands of quality and institutional diversity. On this route, he emphasized the need to strengthen the CRES Action Plan, to strengthen university diversity in the region.

The director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO-IESALC), Pedro Henríquez Guajardo, thanked the National University of Córdoba (UNC), in the figure of its rector, Hugo Juri and the general coordinator of CRES 2018, Francisco Tamarit, as well as his entire team, for his active participation in the construction of a consolidated alternative for HE in Latin America and the Caribbean: "The III Regional Conference on Higher Education ( CRES 2018) was a plural and diverse scenario where we all contributed in the construction of instruments that unite the will expressed in the Declaration, in the Action Plan and in the CRES 2018 Editorial Collection, "he said, thanking the UNMSM for its support in providing spaces for the three days of academic work that implement the Action Plan of the CRES: "a flexible plan that will adapt to the proposals that arise from a I am as rich as the diversity in this room, a job that challenges all societies, "he said. He also commented that he appreciated the dissemination that is being given to the CRES Collection in Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Honduras, countries that committed to print the Collection.

Social commitment and Higher Education

"The results of the work that led to producing the proposals that you are going to examine the action plan following the III CRES are impressive," said Brazilian academic Marco Antonio Dias Rodrigues at the start of the central conference that took place at the table. inaugural.

The international consultant in higher education spoke about the relevance of this call: "It is very important for Latin America to reach a point of consensus among all the components of the academic community (...) I am an optimist. That's why I'm here. I am confident that the new generations will not repeat the mistakes of the previous ones, particularly those of mine. The current generations and those of your children will define the actions to take to keep alive the concept of public good for education and, in particular for higher education, "he said before the audience gathered in the auditorium.

At the end of his conference, he urged those present to strive for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially Goal 4 regarding quality education for all of the UN 2030 agenda: "Transform in reality the dream of a quality higher education with relevance ".

On the outskirts of the enclosure, three dance groups from the Cultural Center offered a musical show in the central courtyards. Dances of the coast, the mountains and the jungle were played by the cast of Marinera Norteña, Danza Mayor and Danzas, in a ritual of sound and movement in the manner of good omens for the following working days.

Translation: Global University Network for Innovation