The seventh Congress of the Americas on International Education (CAIEI), the continental forum of excellence, was inaugurated in the hall of honor of the University of Chile, with the objective of bringing together the main actors and decision-makers involved in the internationalization of higher education in the Americas and thus strengthen contacts, exchange experiences and chart the future of academic cooperation in the region.
Present on the occasion were the President of the Inter-American Universities Association (IOHE) and Rector of the Universidad de Los Lagos, Dr. Oscar Garrido; the Canadian Ambassador to Chile, Michael Gort; the Secretary General of the IOHE, David Julien; the Undersecretary of Higher Education of Chile, Juan Eduardo Vargas and the distinguished researcher Jeffrey Sachs, who gave the inaugural lecture.
The event, which begins on October 19 and runs through Friday, October 22, will bring together the main actors and decision-makers involved in the internationalization of higher education in the Americas.
The congress also has the important support of the government of Canada (Edu Canada), the government of Chile through the Ministry of Education and the Undersecretariat of Higher Education and the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities, among others.
In this context, the president of the IOHE and rector of ULagos, Dr. Óscar Garrido, analyzed the moment the world is living and linked it to the relevance of education in society. The authority recalled that the pandemic has changed education from a face-to-face model to a strictly virtual one for all levels of education, posing an enormous challenge for all institutions.
“Research has also been subject to profound transformations. Fortunately, technological innovations, many of which have arisen in the universities themselves, have allowed us to adapt and continue to develop our mission. And I am convinced that we will continue to adapt to the challenges of the future. The fact that our meeting is entirely virtual is proof of this. But if we have learned anything from the pandemic, it is that cooperation remains the vehicle for achieving shared goals,” and he adds that “at the end of 2021 we will continue to face common challenges. There are many more challenges ahead of us: climate change, water scarcity, energy demand, the increase and intensity of natural disasters, the dissatisfaction of the population and the increase in social demands, the reduction of jobs, threats to health, mass migrations and the radicalization of some external political positions,” said the IOHE president.
The first authority of the University of Los Lagos, said that “the great challenges that our continent has pending are to achieve greater cohesion and social equity, reduce poverty rates, increase sustainable development, deepen democracy, decentralize the territories, will only be possible to achieve if we raise educational levels. We know that education, and in particular higher education, is the engine of regional development and social mobility par excellence; however, we are saddened to see that the same economic and social inequalities that prevent our countries from advancing are reproduced in education. This condition imposes urgent agendas and the need to continue using and perfecting means to achieve them, such as cooperation, solidarity and mutual support”.
In relation to the above, the rector of the ULagos, said that “these are the fundamental axes that are part of our project as Inter-American University Organization and that the Congress of the Americas itself, in its versions, endorses them. These are the values that sustain us and at the same time project us with optimism in spite of the shared threats. As an organization, we will continue to seek these solutions. We have decided to face the future together and we will continue to move forward to achieve the dream of our founding president of the IOHE, Gilles Boulet, ‘to maintain an inter-American university chain in a common effort to improve and strengthen each of its links’ and I would add, a chain in which each of our institutions, whether large or small, counts, and in which each institution contributes its best capabilities to reduce this asymmetry. Promoting human, scientific and technological development and achieving a shared sense of equity”.
Key Actors
The Canadian Ambassador in Chile, Michael Gort, in his capacity as host indicated that “I am proud to welcome you to the congress. Institutions of higher education are key players in meeting the many challenges of our society. In a more connected and competitive world, Canada continually seeks to establish close ties with leading international educational institutions. It is a base of great talent and knowledge fundamental to the advancement of our world. That is why we recognize education as a priority for our country. We would have loved to have held this congress in person, to welcome you to this great country where I proudly represent Canada. However, I am glad that today’s platforms allow us to come together despite the distance and the challenges we have faced due to the pandemic,” he said.
El embajador profundizó su análisis “esperando que esta instancia de vinculación en educación internacional con sede en Chile, continúe consolidando la presencia de CAEI. La participación de distintas delegaciones de distintas partes del mundo, ofrece nuevas oportunidades de desarrollo y colaboración estratégicas para las instituciones superior canadienses y sus socios de las américas, además de fortalecer lazos en eventos como este”.
The ambassador deepened his analysis “hoping that this instance of linkage in international education based in Chile will continue to consolidate the presence of CAEI. The participation of different delegations from different parts of the world offers new opportunities for strategic development and collaboration for Canadian higher education institutions and their partners in the Americas, in addition to strengthening ties in events such as this“.
En tanto, el Secretario General de la OUI, David Julien, explicó que “estamos congregados gracias a la magia de la virtualidad, para trazar el futro de la educación superior en las américas. En primer lugar quiero agradecer el liderazgo del subsecretario de Educación, Juan Eduardo Vargas, que hace 3 años cuando nos reunimos por primera vez, tuvo la audacia y la visión de posicionar a su país como sede de este gran evento, convencido del potencial de educación superior de Chile y decidido a apoyar esta séptima realización del CAI. Ahora tenemos una oportunidad única, para demostrar que no solo Chile, sino toda la región de América Latina y el Caribe, podía recibir al mundo en un evento virtual, innovador, relevante y de cierta forma transformador. Y gracias al compromiso del gobierno chileno fue posible garantizar la plena movilización de las redes nacionales del sector universitario y técnico profesional, para que cada uno de los participantes registrado hoy en el evento pueda encontrar el socio idóneo para desarrollar sus propias estrategias de internacionalización de la educación superior”, afirmó.
The Secretary General of the IOHE, David Julien, explained that “we are gathered here thanks to the magic of virtuality, to chart the future of higher education in the Americas. First of all, I would like to thank the leadership of the Undersecretary of Education, Juan Eduardo Vargas, who three years ago when we met for the first time, had the audacity and vision to position his country as the host of this great event, convinced of Chile’s higher education potential and determined to support this seventh IAC. Now we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate that not only Chile, but the entire Latin American and Caribbean region, could receive the world in a virtual, innovative, relevant and somehow transformative event. And thanks to the commitment of the Chilean government, it was possible to guarantee the full mobilization of the national networks of the university and professional technical sector, so that each of the participants registered today in the event could find the ideal partner to develop their own strategies for the internationalization of higher education,” he said.
The IOHE executive secretary also expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed to the preparation and organization of this event: to the national committee and its technical committees, “to my president, Dr. Oscar Garrido for his leadership and tremendous dedication and above all to my team at the IOHE secretariat,” he concluded.
Inauguration Ceremony
