Argentina (National University of La Plata) Fernando Tauber Led the Opening
The Academic Vice President of the National University of La Plata, Fernando Tauber, headed, together with the Secretary of University Policies of the Nation, Oscar Alpa and the Rector of the UNAJ, Arnaldo Medina, the opening panel of the Latin American Congress of Education, Youth and Work , “Latin America Educates”, which took place at the Arturo Jauretche National University, by Florencio Varela.
Speaking in front of an auditorium filled with hundreds of young people from different student groups from national and Latin American universities, Tauber referred to the responsibilities and obligations “that we are going to assume as part of the university community so that the coming years be better for our people and for our country.”
Tauber reviewed the fundamental moments that marked the university reform as “a clear, Argentine and popular reference of that rebellion to achieve an inclusive education for all; That is why Argentine universities are reformists –he said- he, because of that condition of principles that pushes us to reveal ourselves in the face of a situation that does not conform to us”, reflected the UNLP official.
And he continued: “there was born the concept of gratuity, unrestricted income, autonomy, co-government, academic freedom; the fundamental postulates of the Argentine University. Perón gave shape to free education in 1949 with that first decree, but it was in 2015 – CFK Government – that this decree was transformed into Law, the first law in Latin America that defined that the public university had to be free and with unrestricted income for all Argentines”, recalled the vice president of the UNLP.
“The University as an institution in the world was created by the students, it was not created by the State, it was not created by the professors, it was not created by the unions, but rather by the students,” he remarked. And he added: all the others were always pivotal figures but whenever there was a strong, transformative backlash, there were the college students,” Tauber said.
Looking to the future, he urged the young people present in the auditorium to “think about what the reformist university of the 21st century is for the coming years. What shape will it have? Is it going to be the teaching, research and extension that accompanied us for more than a hundred years? Or do we have to add production, work, the social agenda, territorial protagonism, the transformation of society? ”, She questioned.
At the end of his presentation, Tauber stated that universities must “go for more.” “And the harder the moment, the more we have to move forward. We are the hope of society; the way to build sovereignty in this historical moment is from knowledge, that is why we are obliged to be a fundamental piece for national and sovereign development”, he concluded.
Under the title “Challenges of Higher Education in the current national situation”, the general secretary ADIUL FEDUN, Juan Peralta, also participated in the opening table; the secretary of the FATUN Organization, Mauricio D’alessandro; Mara Espasande, from the National University of Lanús; the Secretary General of ATUNAJ, David Rui; the Secretary General of ADEIUNAJ, Esteban Secondi and the president of FEUNAJ, Lucia Meza.
The organizers of the Congress thanked Tauber for his participation, who was invited by virtue of his outstanding career in university management and in the defense of public education. In this sense, special mention was made of the promotion of an inclusive university model with a strong social imprint.
A Congress with 18 years of experience
The Latin America Educa Congress is a space for the collective construction of a new educational project, with the participation of education actors and social representatives, through thematic panels and workshops.
During the conference, prominent references participated in various debate workshops and thematic panels to discuss Democratic Communication, Gender and Diversity, Health, Public Policies, Popular Education, Work, Youth, among others.
With a history of 18 years and 14 editions, this space has wide recognition from education actors and social actors from Argentina and Latin America. In previous editions, international and national leaders have participated, as well as delegations of students from Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela and Cuba, it has been held in more than 20 cities in the country and more than 40,000 students have participated.