MEC participates in public consultations in preparation for CRES+5

The Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC), through the Secretariat for Higher Education (Sesu) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), is taking part in the virtual public consultations in preparation for the follow-up event to the Regional Conference on Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018 (CRES+5). It will take place from March 13 to 15, 2024, in Brasilia (DF), and will be promoted by Brazil in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), through the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC).

The public consultations began in September and will run until January 2024 via the Zoom platform. The public hearings will be attended by all the actors involved in higher education, with the aim of debating and gathering information on the 12 thematic axes of CRES+5, as well as contributions to the realization of CRES+5. The meetings are coordinated by the Working Groups (WGs) of the Conference’s 12 thematic axes.

The public hearings also include the participation of specialists who make up the WGs. They will be responsible for administering, collecting information and producing the basic documents corresponding to their respective thematic axis.

Conference – The event will be held in the federal capital and it is estimated that there will be a massive presence of the higher education community, as well as members of state governments and Brazilian universities. The Conference will also be an opportunity to disseminate the new public policies of the current MEC administration to other countries and to strengthen dialogue with all the players in higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

CRES+5 – One of the commitments made at the 3rd Regional Conference on Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRES 2018), held in Córdoba (Argentina), was to hold a follow-up meeting five years later, CRES+5. The proposal is to promote a participatory process to highlight the progress made, the challenges that remain and the emerging issues, particularly in the post-pandemic phase. At CRES 2018, a Declaration was approved and an ambitious Work Plan was established for the period 2018-2028. 

The action plan created at CRES 18 has a number of guidelines, including: the strategic role of higher education in the sustainable development of Latin America and the Caribbean; higher education, cultural diversity, interculturality, internationalization and regional integration in Latin America; scientific and technological research and innovation as a driver of human, social and economic development for Latin America and the Caribbean; and teacher training.

In addition to the seven thematic axes around which CRES 2018 revolved, the First Preparatory Meeting for CRES+5 – held in March this year in Córdoba, Argentina – defined and added new axes to coordinate and guide regional debates on the next five years. For each thematic axis, the creation of a Working Group made up of experts was approved.

More information on the thematic axes is available here

Article written by the Social Communication Office of the MEC, with information from Sesu / Categories: Education and Research

Read the original article on the MEC website.