These ideas of the Apostle of Cuban independence -José Martí- appear in a beautiful text about teaching, published in New York more than a century ago. Martí's acute intuition as a teacher enabled him to understand the decisive significance of both education and the integral formation of young people to guarantee the future of the new American republics. He referred to this issue on many occasions, but now I would simply like to recall his words when he praised scientific education, a discipline that was just being incorporated into study plans: "This direct and healthy education; this application of intelligence which inquires into Nature that responds, this serene use of the mind in research (is what) we desire for all the new countries of America."
This concern for education and culture -not only in the Island, but also in the wider framework of the Iberoamerican World has been a defining characteristic of a long line of Cuban teachers, which began with Father Félix Varela and includes such illustrious names as José de la Luz y Caballero, Rafael María de Mendive -teacher of Martí- and the philosopher José Varona. This is why I am especially pleased that Havana has welcomed with its traditional hospitality this conference on the Policies and Strategies for the Transformation of Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, a preparatory meeting for the World Conference on Higher Education that UNESCO has scheduled for 1998, which can be -and should be- the seed of one of the most in-depth transformations that are urgently required in this symbolic turn of the century and of the millennium, if we really want to offer the generations that follow us a fairer, freer more peaceful and brighter world. Havana is the starting point of the process of mobilization, reflection and commitment that could lead to this essential change. Every voyage depends on the first step, which gives it direction and impetus. This is precisely why this Conference is so relevant.
The quality of the more than one hundred papers presented during this meeting and the depth of the analyses and possible solutions set out in the Final Declaration are a most valuable contribution to this task. The potential of talent and enthusiasm which Latin America possesses is enormous. Despite the countless difficulties it must face, this continent of "what is real and marvellous" maintains unharmed a heritage of hope, a "memory of the future," which is the best tool for building free, prosperous and equitable societies. As you all know, the objectives of Higher Education -that is, basically, university education- can be summarized in a few concepts that comprise a very complex world: forming responsible and committed citizens; providing society with the professionals it needs; developing scientific and technical research; conserving and transmitting culture, enriching it with the creative contribution of each generation; acting as the memory of the past and the sentinel of the future; and constituting a critical and neutral entity, based on rigour and merit, which can be, because of all this, vanguard of "intellectual and moral solidarity" that the constitution of UNESCO offers us as the key formula for this deeply human and important renewal that is now urgent, crucial and which cannot be postponed.
Though they are intimately related to the political, economic and social life, these university tasks have their own profile. They are a set of activities more closely linked to ethics and convictions, than to utilitarianism and immediacy attached to other areas of existence. This is the reason why I like to reiterate that higher education has basically a pre-political content or if you permit the neologism, a pol-ethical one.
This ethical dimension of University work is especially significant in this era of rapid transformations, which affect almost all the spheres of individual and collective life, and which threaten to wipe out all the reference points and to destroy the moral support that is indispensable for building the future. Given the speed and negative nature of some of these trends, the University has to become the bastion of the essential values of the spirit and the prime moving force of an ethical movement aimed at endowing intelligence with a sense of both solidarity and commitment.
Hence, teachers, professors and political leaders have a two-fold responsibility, derived from their wealth of knowledge and their strategic relation with the key sectors of development and socio-economic transformation. However, very high objectives must be set, so that we can know exactly where we are headed at. As a verse in one of the works of Fernando Pessoa reminds us "The moon shines the same on the sea and on small puddles because it is high enough to do so."
But we cannot read the compass in the dark. Nothing can be achieved without a context of peace and justice. Peace is a pre-requisite, a premise. Because of this, the great "ethical conspiracy" that I tirelessly propose is based on an open mobilization against violence and its deep causes: misery, ignorance, injustice and tyranny. Because, peace is the vertex of an "interactive triangle." Its other sides are development and democracy -the basic condition for freedom and equality. History has clearly demonstrated, at a very high price in lives and suffering, that freedom and equality have to go hand in hand, they cannot be mutually exclusive.
A system based on equality but which had forgotten freedom disappeared in 1989. We are witnessing the failures of the opposite system, one that has forgotten equality. And, it will have to rescue it swiftly. And the sine qua non condition for this rescue is a deep, firm and everyday feeling of fraternity, which both systems left behind in their starting point. No. No right can be exercised in the middle of war, no effort of socio-economic transformation will bear fruit in situations of conflict, likewise, it is very difficult to guarantee peace and democratic governance when there is no shared economic, scientific and technological progress. The foundations for building a culture of peace can only be laid when there is an endogenous development that truly respects the environment -a development with a human face. Like freedom and love, peace is not a gift. It is a personal endeavour, that cannot be transferred. The answers do not lie outside. They deep inside each human being.
We are all aware of the "gordian knots" of our times: exclusion and discrimination, based on ethnic, cultural or ideological excuses; urban misery and the decadence of rural zones; massive population outflows; mismanagement and excessive use of the resources of our planet and deterioration of the environment; new pandemics, like AIDS, and a renewed virulence of the old ones, like tuberculosis and malaria, as well as the neurological distresses caused by prisons; arms and drugs trafficking and the free flow of "dirty money"; social asymmetries; violence and the violation of human rights. According to the classical legend, Alexander the Great cut with his sword the "gordian knot" that was later to give him dominance over Asia. However, those of our times have to be cut very incisively, though by peaceful means. They must be cut with words, not with the sword! The strength of parliaments lies in words. Let us set up information and co-operation channels with those deliberating organs and this we can guarantee that the representatives of the people will be the defenders of education, university education included.
The complexity of the contemporary world does not allow simple solutions to solve these extraordinarily broad problems. There is no place in a planet that holds six billion inhabitants living in an "unequal interdependence," for a reductionist analysis, which until very recently was aimed at finding one single cause to all our evils and, once this had been identified, to find the magic cure -some sort of balm of Fierabrás- that would suddenly cure all the afflictions. On the other hand, what we can devise is a set of partial measures and their application would have a most determining effect of this wide range of problems that I have already mentioned. In general terms, those solutions revolve around a common axis, to share better, and they are related to democratic governance; education and science; culture, a lasting development; and the construction of peace. Hence the action of UNESCO -based on ideals that are more necessary than ever and that are so clearly set out in our Constitution is based on the very axis of the world's problems .
Democratic ideals, not models manufactured far away. Universal principles, incorporated in each culture, in each cultural situation. The recent extension of "turnkey democracies" in countries that had never known governments elected by the will of the people, has emphasized the dangers that threaten the democratic system when applied in haste where there is no justice or security. It does not suffice to proclaim the "rule of Law." Laws must be fair and this is the result of a real freedom of expression. In turn, for fair laws to be enforced diligently there is a clear need for an adequate level of security. Frequently, nations go from total security and the absence of freedom to total freedom and the absence of security. Besides, democratic principles require a strict and all-embracing implementation, along with popular participation. And in order to participate, there is a need to know. As Bolívar said: "education is the key to freedom." Lacking a pertinent educational, cultural and socio-economic development, the participation of citizens in decision-making is either totally absent or simply symbolic. In turn, democratic institutions lose their raison d’être. They are simply degraded to the level of formal representation. Hence in order to ensure an authentic democracy, government organs must guarantee an equal freedom for all, together with security and legal protection. Respect for human rights -especially those of minorities- and an efficient administration of justice are the pillars of democratic governance.
The promise made by industrialized countries in 1974, within the framework of the United Nations, stated that they would devote 0.7% of their Gross Domestic Product to contribute to the development of their less developed neighbours. This generated great hopes that the ancient misery of the poorest regions of the planet would be finally overcome. Since then, inequalities have increased, even in the case of those countries with a higher level of economic growth. The Report of Human Development that was published by the U.N. in 1996 confirms this trend on the basis of abundant macro and microeconomic data. In 70 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, the average income of the population is currently lower than in 1980. By the end of 1996, 85% of the wealth of the planet is in the hands 20% of the world population. This situation indicates that, among other considerations, we have not fulfilled that promise to help the less developed countries. And this promise was made more than twenty years ago. Instead we have forced on them Draconian measures as a requirement for financing their development. We have also imposed our political, constitutional, educational and cultural schemes on them, without even bearing in mind the specific characteristics of each nation and each culture. It is quite clear that the condition for development cannot be what is really its consequence: democracy; the values and behaviour patterns that promote co-existence, pluralism and civic participation. These characteristics cannot emerge from poverty, frustration, ignorance and solitude.
During the last quarter of this century, developing countries have seen their external support withdraw and the relevance of their regional or world associations really diminish. However, they have learnt a most essential lesson along the way. Their future will depend on themselves and they should not accept requirements or conditions in return for foreign aid, when the former are not in agreement with their own designs of the future. The asymmetry that is currently in effect is not only a menace for the poorest countries. Interdependence and globalization have unified the world that we live in to such an extent that no conflict, no danger, no injustice can be foreign to us. In the words of John Donne, there is no sense in asking for whom the bells toll...The bells are tolling for all of us, for each and every one of us. It is unbelievable that in one continent peasants are paid to uproot crops, to avoid production surpluses, while in another continent -not far away- whole nations are starving and suffering from thirst and epidemics. It is unbelievable that the barriers to information and knowledge persist, while “dirty money” freely flows around the world via electronic networks. And this money comes from the trafficking of drugs that kill thousands of youngsters, who are deprived of their souls, who are rendered helpless. Drugs wage a sordid and terrible war that is undermining the global dignity of mankind. The same could be said of the trafficking of weapons that kill and are used to kill indiscriminately, or the traffic in human beings who, die though they are still alive.
An in-depth reform is required in order to solve all these problems. At best, humanitarianism is simply a palliative measure that is unable to eliminate the causes of injustice and inequality. No charitable solutions can be applied to the unacceptable situation of the "children of the streets" who barely survive, inhaling solvents until they finally become victims of a "death squadron," or else of labour or sexual exploitation. Public opinion has witnessed with great relief how the last modalities of racial apartheid were finally overcome. We owe this to a great extent to the clarity of mind and to the determination of Nelson Mandela. However, there is still a social apartheid that endangers our collective future. Indeed, there can be no peace while several million people still live in subhuman conditions. Even in the more advanced countries, reality is starting to confirm the pessimistic statement made by Paul Valéry: "the future is no longer what it was." This is not only a moral issue. We also have the practical certainty -one that can be easily verified- that we are unable to confront effectively many of these threats, if there is not enough popular demand to promote innovating, bold and creative measures.
Today, it is no longer enough to continue analysing the evils of our times, which are only too well known. Treatment in time is the reason of the diagnosis. In many aspects -social, economic and environmental in nature- we are simply reiterating the diagnosis. We are writing one report after the other. And we are doing so, because we do not dare apply the correct measures, the adequate treatments that are more and more pressing as every day goes by. Hence, to our misfortune and shame, because we do not implement the correct diagnosis, we end up knowing the perfect diagnosis: the autopsy. As demonstrated by the cases of Rwanda-Zaire-Burundi, or that of Bosnia-Herzegovina, we have to be prepared to act as soon as possible. At the end of the day, any risk is dangerous without knowledge. However, knowledge with no risks is useless. Basically, we have to get ahead of the negative trends that cast a shadow on the future. The unavoidable task of foresight and prevention that we are heading for is an investment effort. It is an investment in social intangibles, so to speak. It is a quiet determination -almost always invisible- that is aimed at modulating values, practices and beliefs. Indeed, the latter are the only means for creating a freer and more fraternal world, in which the full and harmonious development of human beings and nations can be achieved.
The challenges of contemporary life demand global answers designed to liberate society as a whole (civil, military and religious circles). The asymmetries in the distribution of wealth and knowledge have to be corrected and this also applies to the asymmetries related to women and men. We live in an androcentric world and this discrimination might prove to be even more harmful in the case of the poor countries, because of its consequences in the fields of education and demography. Men hold 95% of the government positions and 90% of the seats in Congress. How can the world fare well if it does not listen to almost half the inhabitants of this planet? It is clear then that one of the keys for confronting the challenges of the immediate future lies in the participation of all human beings in the decisions that determine the future of society. No one can be a real citizen without actively participating in all the areas of the political life of a country. "I participate, therefore I exist." That should be the Cartesian formula of modern citizenship. If I do not participate, I do not exist as a citizen. I am counted, but I do not count. I am subject to laws and surveys, though I am not subject to duties and rights.
The XXI Century dawns under the dual sign of democracy and complexity. I reiterate that there are no simple solutions to the complex problems of our era. Simplified versions of a complex reality cannot be offered to those who make decisions, even with the best will in the world. In my opinion, globality, complexity and irreversibility are the major guidelines that will help us create the planetary awareness that is currently the only firm basis for building a brighter future -in the making- to our children.
The founders of the United Nations Organization foresaw many of the negative trends that are threatening us. Hence, the Constitution of UNESCO warns that the task of ensuring justice, peace and freedom set by the Organization cannot, I quote: "be based exclusively on political and economic agreements among governments." Rather, they demand "the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind." Organizations and institutions, overcoming the day by day, the opinion surveys and the short-term shortsightedness, should broadly outline the path that will lead to a more peaceful, free and fair future. However, as we approach the end of this century and this millennium, they do not seem to have the convictions, the faith and the passion -or compassion- of those who founded the United Nations when the last war finally came to an end, who organized the Marshall Plan and drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
What is the reason for this silence of the leaders and intellectuals? Is it that cultural and political elites are unable to offer inventive proposals to face the current situation the world is undergoing. Is it that they cannot or that they do not wish to do it? Can it be that without even noticing they are ceasing to be responsible individuals and are turning into mere objects of macroeconomics and macropolitics? Or maybe, as I pointed out before, we are looking for answers that we will only find inside ourselves?
Industrialized nations try to buy the raw materials that they need at low costs. These raw materials are frequently produced in far-away countries, in outrageous labour and remunerative conditions. However, those nations want to sell their products at the highest prices possible, while raising protectionist barriers that turn the so-called "free" markets into captive markets. This "iron law that rules the market" generates a spiral of stagnation, impoverishment and illegal trade that ends up undermining both those who enforce it and those who suffer it.
We should be guided by ideals, though not by interests. Fair laws should prevail and not those of the market. The rigour of reasoning is excellent when applied to business transactions, but it cannot be orthodoxy that judges and decides the rest of collective life. Nowadays, international economic orthodoxy only pays attention to macroeconomic indicators, and ignores the daily existence of citizens, worsening social unrest and instigating the dissatisfaction of the people. Indiscriminate privatization -the corollary of the neoliberal boom- does not guarantee by itself a better distribution of wealth. Money does not flow into the State coffers, but into the hands of banks and major multinational corporations. By definition, these sectorial interests do not represent society as a whole. The only ones that can guide development for the benefit of all are the state powers elected democratically by the majority of the population and supervised by an independent and efficient judiciary.
In 1993, UNESCO set up an independent commission presided over by the former President of the European Commission, Mr. Jacques Delors. This commission was entrusted with the mission of confronting the challenges posed by education in the coming century, while at the same time creating an open, integrating, dynamic and diversified University that is a prime moving force of development.
In its final report, the prestigious team of professors highlighted four pillars that are the foundations of teaching activities: learning to be, learning to know, learning to do and learning to co-exist. I would like to add a task that is highly significant in my opinion: learning to undertake. Indeed, the dynamics of our times demand that university graduates contribute to the generation of employment opportunities and to the well-being of mankind. In fact, they are the ones who have had the privilege of receiving the best training in the best institutions of the country. Sapere aude! To this Horatian "dare to know," we should now add: know how to dare, dare to undertake, dare to take risks.
The solutions set out in the report -as well as those approved in this Conference- reinforce and supplement the strategy contained in the agreements of Education for All, approved during the Jomtien (1990) and the New Delhi (1993) conferences. They also reinforce and supplement the principles of the Learning without Frontiers programme and the trans-disciplinary initiatives of UNESCO. This is also the case of the project on Education and Information on the Environment and the Population for Development. Among the countless other contributions of the organization to this task, mention can be made of the creation of information networks that facilitate the transfer of data and knowledge; the exchange of professors and students between the North and the South; and, the promotion of international co-operation in the field of scientific research and teaching.
UNESCO believes that the application of scientific innovations will be specially significant when confronting the challenges of cultural standardization. It will also have to cope with the environmental, social, labour and economic challenges that loom over the horizon of the next century. The communications revolution transforms almost daily the lives of several million people throughout the world. It also contributes to emphasize some of the basic challenges of modern life. The new technologies have an incredible educational potential. No doubt they will enable us to reach those individuals who, on account of their age, their income level or their geographic location, have been forced to remain outside the reach of the traditional teaching systems.
In order to attain all these objectives, the university system has to fulfill some basic requirements. If not, it will not even be possible to conceive such a broad-based transformation as this one. In the first place, the University must be an institution based on merit. This is clearly stated in article 26.1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone will have access to higher education on the basis of their merits." Academic quality is not achieved with professors that are given a post for life too early in their professional career. The confidence granted by a chair can be a positive factor, provided the aspirant gives proof that he deserves it. The same concept of merit applies to students. The University as a privilege for the privileged, as the elitization of the established elites should give way to an intellectual milieu where all citizens are ensured access to training ad updating. This is something that young people have to remember, that you can never enjoy what you have not longed for. Besides, it is worth remembering that we are all passengers in the same boat and heading for the same destination... Leonardo Da Vinci said: "do not look for your destiny, but for destiny alone... Only in this way will you also find your own."
The University must also be autonomous, but always willing to render accounts to the society it serves; it must also be a sentinel watching over the future, that can anticipate the negative trends and offer solutions to the public powers. Only with this preventive approach will we be able to transform the University into a dynamic centre that contributes to converting the ideal of a longlife education for all into a reality. Implementing an effective democratization of education is an indispensable requisite for achieving the participation of all the citizens in the political and social life of the nations that I have already referred to. Education on behalf of all and for all, for a lifetime. The business sector is a key ally in higher education. "Learning to learn" can no longer be applied to the third level of education. Here you come "to learn to undertake," to generate employment and not to request it from the State. The University is the guarantor of democratic principles of daily life for all citizens. It should not apply the principles of political representation to the academic life, where only quality should prevail. The formula for glucose can not be put to the vote.
In the third place, the University must contribute to preserve the legacy of the generations before us, and to forge the future. This applies to culture and nature, as well as to the intangible manifestations of the legacy -traditions, rituals, festivities and practices. However, as I mentioned at the beginning, it also applies to the genetic legacy and, especially, to the ethical patrimony, which is acquiring greater significance . Indeed, the values that we bestow on future generations will shape the architecture of the world of tomorrow. This demand to maintain the legacy of the past and to increase it is a way of inventing and reinventing, of building the future on a daily basis.
The "interactive triangle" formed by peace, democracy and development that I have outlined in my presentation, is only effective when education is its axis. Likewise, it has to be promoted by solidarity, prevention and a true feeling of justice. As our global society grows in both size and complexity, the links between the need to share, the possibility of participating and the ability to prevent are more evident. However, these links will only be fruitful if we can forge an open and dynamic University, where education is offered via the only efficient method: the pedagogy of love and of setting an example. There is no other pedagogy. As the words of Jose Martí reminds us: "Only love breeds melodies."
Our world -full of conflicts and yet so rich in resources- now needs more than ever a peaceful and creative rebellion that only parents and teachers can instill in their children and youngsters. We can expect nothing from those who are satisfied, sated and docile. Indocility is an essential aspect of that "ethical conspiracy" that I invite you all to share. The highest hope of America lies in a non-violent rebellion and in the civic rebelliousness of citizens who are aware of their duties and rights.
The challenge posed by the transformation of higher education, now as we enter the new century, is based on personal merit and not on privileges and it demands the co-operation of all of us, with no exceptions. The talent and enthusiasm we devote to this key task will enable us to honestly look our children in their eyes. Indeed, we will have contributed to the building of a fairer and freer world for them. As the poem of Salvador Espriu tells us, we will have lived "to save the words for them," to preserve the dignity and the future of all human beings alike.
