International University Congress Kicks Off in Havana

Education Ministers, heads of multinational organizations and personalities which include a Nobel Peace laureate will participate in the “University 2012” 8th International Congress of Higher Education that kicks off this Monday in Havana city.

The role of higher education institutions and their relevance to the pursuit of sustainable development will center the debates of some 3000 delegates from over 50 countries at the Havana’s Convention Center, according to Prensa Latina news agency.

The delegates will discuss over 2 000 papers in this Congress, whose first edition was in 1998, and it is the largest of its kind in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, according to First Deputy Minister of Higher Education of Cuba, Rodolfo Alarcón Ortiz.

The main delegations are from Venezuela, Angola and Bolivia, as well as from South Africa, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Djibouti.

Chinese Qian Tang,Deputy Director General of Education of the Organization of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is among the participants.

Among others are the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980, Argentine Adolfo Perez Esquivel, and the religious and social activist Brazilian Frei Betto.

Cuban Higher Education Minister Miguel Diaz Canel will deliver a conference titled “University and sustainable development: A view from Cuba” this Monday.

Previously the delegates will participate in a special workshop dedicated to the Central University of Las Villas Marta Abreu, the third founded in Cuba that will turn 60 this December.

The program also includes 19 short courses offered by Cuban specialists that summarize the themes proposed by the sector to offer them to foreign visitors that wish to enrol in postgraduates studies such as masters and doctorates degrees.

It also stands out a panel chaired by the Cuban Minister of Higher Education and top experts from different countries, which will set out the vision of institutions and governments on the current development and perspective of the universities.



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