I would like to extend my warmest greetings to the representatives of the Government and the academic community of Cuba. Indeed, in this most difficult period, they have made the decision to overcome all the obstacles and to support this conference that is now being held in Havana.
I would also like to extend my greetings to the countless participants present here today. They have all accepted the invitation of UNESCO to attend. Upon launching a movement that has an international scope, this organization is attempting to turn into reality the utopia of constructing higher education systems where the institutions are characterized by their quality, relevance and equity, by not promoting discrimination and by defining access policies based exclusively on merit.
The Director General of UNESCO will be with you during the closing session of this conference. By the way, I would like to take this opportunity to convey to you the best wishes of Georges Haddad, Chairman of the International Consultative Group on Higher Education of UNESCO and Colin Power, Deputy Director General of Education of UNESCO. Due to circumstances beyond their control, both of them have been unable to travel to Cuba.
Acting in my capacity as Director of the Division of Higher Education of UNESCO, in Paris, and being a native of this region (Latin America and the Caribbean), it is indeed a great honour for me to be with you in the opening session of this first Regional Conference. This is a preparatory meeting that will lead to the World Conference of Higher Education, to be held in 1998, which has been convened by the Director General of UNESCO with the objective of:
The International Consulting Group on Higher Education of UNESCO -presided by Georges Haddad, Honorary President of the University of Paris I-Sorbonne- was asked to define the organization and development of the World Conference of Higher Education on the basis of these objectives. This group is made up, among others, of several representatives of the region. Among them, mention can be made of Carlos Tünnermann Bernheim (Nicaragua), Jorge Brovetto (Uruguay), Eunice Durnham (Brazil), José Sarukhán (Mexico) and Alfonso Borrero Cabal (Colombia).
As mentioned by Luis Yarzábal, the Conference that is starting today will be the first of a series of regional meetings. The one scheduled for Africa will take place in Dakar (Senegal) at the end of March, 1997. The one for the Arab countries will be held in Beirut (Lebanon) during April, 1997. Finally, Tokyo will be hosting the Asia Pacific meeting in July, 1997. The latter will have the participation of the University of the United Nations. Insofar as Europe is concerned, the activities corresponding to this region will be held jointly with the meetings of the Association of European Universities (CRE). The first of them has been scheduled for Palermo (Italy), during September, 1977. Later, a meeting will be held in Bucharest (Romania) in April, 1998. Plans have also been made for holding sub-regional meetings. To mention just a few, one will take place in Thessalonica (Greece) in 1977 and it will be specifically for the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Negotiations are underway in Canada and United States for holding a Conference for the Americas. It will have the participation of the Inter American University Organization (OUI) and the International Association of Presidents of Universities (AIUP). It will take place in Canada, at the beginning of 1998. Undoubtedly, it will have the participation of UDUAL, as well as the Universities and Colleges of Canada. In March 1997, a conference will be jointly held in Paris with an NGO - International Education. It is also worth mentioning that a Youth Forum has been set up with the associations and groups of students.
On the other hand, the NGOs are working within the framework of their own assemblies and general conferences, via studies, conferences and round tables. Likewise, discussions have been provided for with international organizations, as is the case of the World Bank, the WHO, the IDB, the OECD, etc. For its part, the University of the United Nations has organized a seminar on the future of the University, which will be held next week in Santiago de Chile. As mentioned before, the UNU will also co-organize the regional conference for the Asia Pacific region.
This is an action that is aimed at the future. This is the reason that accounts for and justifies the mobilization that has taken place in Latin America, and the one that is taking place throughout the world. However, as stated by Octavio Paz, we are clear that "the search for the future ends inevitably with the reconquest of the past."
And the past is indeed rich in this field! There is no need to go very far back. Very few would not be willing to acknowledge now that society underwent many changes as a result of the events of 1968. In France, as well as elsewhere in the world, a bottled-up society experienced a real blossoming. Speech was set free. This brought about changes even in the modalities of expression of the mass media. The male chauvinism underlying social structures -including the family and the companies- felt the impact. It produced more freedom in the manifestations of sexuality. However, many of the utopias of the students did not become a reality. The movement was absorbed by traditional political and unionist organizations. The political system was not renewed. The reform was unable to transform the University into an efficient instrument for creating a more equitable and fair society.
In May 1968, I was a third-semester student at the University of Paris. I still remember -as if it were today- one morning when I saw how the shop windows and the cars were destroyed before my very eyes. Those objects were perceived as symbols of a society that was rejected by students. Then, I told my wife: "This is like the Commune of Paris in 1848. What we live today will be a subject to be studied by future generations." In 1978, when I was vice-rector of the University of Brasilia, I was invited to the headquarters of UNESCO. I was asked to represent the region in a symposium on higher education. A group of Brazilian students that was in Paris at that time knew that I had lived the experience of May 1968. They invited me to explain to them what the movement had really been about. For them, ten years later, it was simply like the world wars in the song of the Frenchman George Brassens. It was an event as remote as the Hundred Years' War. It was part of history, part of the past.
In 1988, twenty years after May 1968, there was a revival of these events in both the written press and television. Radio France International discovered that the Director of the Division of Higher Education of UNESCO had been a foreign student in Paris at that time. Consequently, I was one of those who were interviewed during the special programmes commemorating those events. As is usually the case, many interesting things were said. Likewise, many of those present showed they had not understood a movement that was difficult to understand, simply because it had been spontaneous, it had not been planned and, in a certain way, it had been anarchical. During those same days, during a debate that took place in the University of Nanterre, the former leaders of the Movement of May 1968 had to listen to the irreverent and critical statements of the youngsters of the 1980’s. For instance, a student seemed to be tired of listening about remembrances. So, after telling these old leaders that they were living on nostalgia, she simply asked: can we speak about the future?
The young student of Nanterre was right: we have to speak about the future! However, once again I would like to clearly state that we cannot forget the past. In fact, the Movement of May 1968 had a very profound effect on the people of my generation. I still remember quite frequently the events of those days, as though they had taken place yesterday.
The first confrontation between the police forces and the 25 thousand students who were parading along the avenues and streets of Paris took place on May 6th, 1968. More than four hundred students were imprisoned as a result of the clashes. Likewise, more than six hundred -students and policemen- were wounded. While the confrontations were taking place, the French Minister of Education proved that he was totally unaware of what was really happening. He declared on radio and television that the movement had no significance whatsoever and that the parents should tell their children to behave and devote their time to studying. As I mentioned during the programme aired by Radio France International, one of the things I really remember regarding the events of 1968, was the generalized inability of the political leaders and opinion makers to understand reality and anticipate the measures that would be required in order to face the crisis. Pierre Vianxon Ponté -the most famous columnist of France at that time- published an article in the first page of the newspaper Le Monde on March 15, 1968. The article was entitled "La France s’ennuie" (France is bored) and there he showed that, from the social and political points of view, apathy was generalized in that country and that nothing important would happen.
When the conflict finally erupted, Edgar Pisani -a Gaullist leftist congressman- addressed the French National Assembly, on May 8th, 1968, in the following terms: "Nobody asks themselves if those really responsible are the professors, the parents and the politicians, because they had proved themselves incapable of conveying to young people a satisfactory image of our society. Sometimes, I must remain silent before my son and his friends, or else, I must lie because I do not always find an answer to the questions they ask me".
UNESCO -indeed a privileged observatory of matters related to education- did not see or feel the storm that was in store. It reacted later, in 1971, when the General Conference of the Organization made the decision to create an International Commission for the Development of Education. It was presided over by Edgar Faure, a former Minister of Education of France. The commission reached the conclusion that the educational systems of the whole world were blocked and that pressing measures had to be taken. They saw a need for a real revolution of the spirit, in order to set forth what was known as the "culture of learning to be." The analysis of this document shows that, even though it was drafted twenty five years ago, it is still up to date. Its message is still relevant. Currently, we have the Delors Report. And, in the field of education, we have the Policy Paper for Change and Development in Higher Education, so that UNESCO can attempt to exercise its function of anticipation and vision.
I would like to take this opportunity to state that it was precisely in Latin America where the Director General of UNESCO -Federico Mayor- stated that the time had come to start reflecting in-depth on the functions and missions of the higher education institutions vis-ŕ-vis society. This took place in the Palace of Itamaray, in Brazil- in July 1988, during a special meeting of the Board of the University of the United Nations. Federico Mayor mentioned that, to this end, the starting point should be the original idea that has ruled the creation of these institutions. Their evolution in time and space should be analysed. This should include the role they have to play within the framework of a society which is undergoing a period of ultra-fast changes. The final step in the action that was generated as a result was the Policy Paper for Change and Development in Higher Education that was published. Now, we have this summons to the world conference on higher education. It is quite clear that the situation we face today is not the same as the one that prevailed in the decade of the sixties, Nevertheless, we have not been able to turn most of our utopias into reality. In the 1960’s students stated: "Nous refusons un monde ou la certitude de ne pas mourir de faim s’échange contre le risque de périr d’ennui."
Nowadays, it is quite common to listen to youngsters who are raising their protests against the fact that, in many places, they are not even granted the right to "périr d’ennui." That alternative has ceased to exist. They feel that the doors of society are closed before their very faces. Access to higher education is further complicated. A degree is no longer a guarantee for finding a job. Unemployment growth increases at an accelerated pace and is at critical levels throughout the world. There are countries -in both the Eastern and the Western hemisphere- that are considered to be real models of civilization. However, in this world of increasingly globalized information, they daily witness examples of moral delinquency. They have enabled corruption to pervade both private and public spheres. They have acted most irresponsibly -as was the clear case of the affair of the crazy cows, where financial considerations prevailed over the respect for both the health and the life of several million people.
Our generation cannot feel proud of the society that we are bequeathing our children. I am sure that Carlos Tünnermann will present a panoramic and detailed outlook of the social and educational situation of Latin America. Hence, I would simply like to state that some progress has been made. One example in this respect would be the eradication of military dictatorships during the decade of the seventies. However, it has not been possible for us to solve the problem of a debt that we are not able to pay. Thus, the inequalities observed in the region have only increased. In most of our countries, the differences between those who have and those who have nothing are rated among the highest in the world. Even in the field of higher education we cannot state that education for the masses has meant a real democratization in access to education. We are now seeing attempts at elitist changes that add to our countless problems the risk that systems are created at a double-paced speed with efficient institutions for the rich and mediocre institutions for the poor. In many cases, this would amount to a new modality of social apartheid, where those who have nothing would be simply thrown out of the system.
In fact, this is precisely against the provisions contained in the Declaration of Human Rights. In its article 26, paragraph 10, the latter states that: "every person has the right to education" and that "the access to higher education will be the same for all on the basis of the merit of each person." There is a similar provision in the Convention against discrimination in education (1960). Its article IV states that the signatory States will take up the commitment to "...make higher education accessible to all, under full conditions of equality and on the basis of the capacity of each individual." In turn, Article 13 of the International Pact related to economic, social and cultural rights (See Pactes Internationaux relatifs aux Droits de l’homme et Protocole facultatif - pages 9 and 10 - New York, United Nations, Bureau of Public Information), states that "higher education must be accessible to all under conditions of equality, on the basis of the skills of each individual, via all the pertinent methods, and, most specifically, setting up a system of free education."
The principle of merit is a basic one when attempts are made at attaining equity and, through it, a fairer society. The experience of reflection and action of UNESCO in the field of higher education has shown that rather than asking what type of universities one wants, there is a need to determine the type of society that one wants to build.
After the series of summits that started with the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992, the United Nations launched a movement that was disseminated via a series of documents. Among them, the Agenda for Peace and the Agenda for Development are worth special mention. In the case of the latter document, actions were provided for eradicating -or, at least- decreasing poverty, maintaining peace, protecting the environment and training human resources. In this respect, higher education institutions play a most significant role. Hence, United Nations offers its contributions to a new order that is not an instrument for domination.
When dealing with this issue, UNESCO reflects the comments that have been received from the academic community of the whole world. Hence, it states that the search for a fairer model of society should be the priority that guides both the higher education systems and the remaining levels of education. The University must serve society. Furthermore, in view of the current conditions of the world, it must help promote the development of a more friendly and supportive society.
This is a basic principle. During the reflection that led to the publication of the Policy Paper for Change and Development in Higher Education, it was clear throughout the world that "the answers of higher education in a world undergoing transformations should be guided by three criteria that determine its hierarchy as well as its local, national and international activities: relevance, quality and internationalization." These three issues are part of the agenda that you will be discussing. The reflection does not start from scratch. It is a process that has been underway for many years now. All the other regional conferences will also analyse these issues. Hence, via joint actions, we will have an opportunity to develop a reflection for identifying common problems. In this way, we will be able to prepare and approve -first, at a regional level, and then, internationally- a declaration on the mission of the University in this turn of the century. Likewise, we will prepare and approve an action plan that groups together all the players that interact within the framework of the higher education institutions: the families and the academic communities. The latter comprise the administrators, professors, students, political parties that are responsible for this field, university associations and the representatives of the labour world.
It is not by chance that the Latin American and Caribbean conference is the first one. When preparatory conferences were planned, due consideration was given to the fact that a considerably strong mobilization had already been started. It was centred around Luis Yarzábal -Director of CRESALC- and Carlos Tünnermann -President of Advisory Group of CRESALC and Special Advisor of the Director General. This was confirmed last year, in November 1995, when the General Conference granted its approval for holding this conference in Cuba. At that point in time, approximately four thousand people were directly involved in its preparation phase. They participated in debates, symposia, national or regional conferences and started to prepare studies and documents.
Latin America can set the example. Once again looking back to the past , we see that it is not the first time in the history of universities that this happens. In the year 1968, frequent references were made to the 1918 Cordoba Reform. Via that movement, Latin Americans have made their contribution to world university thought. Indeed, that reform created and established a system by means of which the University has to be related to the society and culture in which it operates in order to convey and generate knowledge. For Darcy Ribeiro, the Cordoba Reform is "the main force of renewal of our universities." For Carlos Tünnermann, the so-called "Movement of Cordoba" was the first important confrontation between a society that started to experience changes in its internal composition and the Continent as a whole. Its ideas were disseminated throughout the world. Even though it responded to the needs of a society which was quite different to the present one, it established principles that are still in effect nowadays. This is the case, for example, of the principles of: university autonomy, democratization of the admission criteria for entering universities, the need to be related to the national education system, the development of the social function of the university, Latin American unity, the struggle against dictatorships and imperialism.
Carlos Tünnermann B. quotes German Arciniegas, who stated that after 1918, the University "was not what it should be, though it was no longer what it had been." Cordoba was the starting point of a process that your are further implementing today, granting it continuity. However, you are now facing different problems and their solutions have to be different. However, there is a need to always bear in mind the idea that the University -as well as the remaining institutions of higher education- must exhibit quality. Furthermore, quality only exists when there is relevance, i.e. when it is linked to the problems of the Latin American society. This will only be possible if these institutions collaborate among themselves in trying to search for common objectives, doing so with autonomy, though willing to accept their accountability to society.
We start today a faster pace towards the world process of reform of the higher education institutions. To this end, in the case of Latin America, all the players involved in the field of higher education have been invited to participate: government representatives, members of the academic community and of the NGO’s, representatives of international organizations and of the labour world. The response to this invitation was indeed impressive. This is proved by the fact that thousands participated in the preparatory work and in the high number of participants that are attending this meeting. The fact that representatives from so many organizations are present here is another clear indication. However, there is much to be done. In the first place, we must prove that in the Latin America of the 1990’s, there is a real dialogue capacity and that consensus can be reached on issues that are sensitive in some cases. In the second place, we cannot think that the process will simply end here. At an international level, the results of this conference will be submitted to the consideration of the world conference. However, at a regional level, we have to continue in our path of progress. Resolutions have to be implemented. In so doing, we have to more actively involve students, representatives of civil society, other international organizations. We must also involve far more actively the countries that make up the French and English speaking Caribbean, that share similar problems to those of Latin America.
In the recent past, everybody considered that higher education was a key element for development. Nowadays, there are many players -and I also refer to individuals who belong to international organizations that work in the field of education- that act as though this were not real. They behave as though the developing countries could achieve their real independence without an efficient and quality system for third level education and research. These positions confirm the re-emergence of what the French economist François Perroux defined as "economism," the search for cost/benefit at any price, the identification of the market as the exclusive and determining factor in people's lives, which implies a mechanical perception of history, according to which all the societies must follow the same paths and processes in order to attain the "soi-disant" well-being of the rich and developed countries. It is an ethnocentric vision, according to which the economy explains and solves everything.
We have to denounce this as something indeed detrimental to the developing countries, most specifically those of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ana María Cetto, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico was quite right in this respect. In her opinion, in our region, "we pertain to the large periphery of the present world system, in the economic sense, in the political sense, and of course in science as well." This has to change. As she mentions, we have "to be ready to make the transition from dependence to interdependence and to select our own modalities of evolution within this context."
Finally, I would say that it is absolutely necessary to consolidate an international co-operation where solidarity is the main foundation. Hence, as mentioned in a seminar held in Cochabamba in June this year, we can work together for the human development of the region and for a better higher education in a society that is more free, democratic and equitable. It is an utopia. But, who knows? Without utopias progress cannot be accelerated.
