The university's branch campus in Cuenca hosted the forum "Inclusion for university diversity" which was attended by students and professors from Univesidad del Azuay (UDA), Universidad de Cuenca (UCUENCA), Universidad Catolica (UCACUE) and Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNAE). 

 

UPS president, Father Herran welcomed all the participants and said "inclusion is a concept of permanent construction which connects people with institutional missions, it seeks equality and opportunities over differences and it seeks people's development and recognizes the need to accept diversity".

 

Milton Guaman, student of Development in Universidad de Cuenca, explained how inclusion and diversity should be understood and presented the challenges that higher education has to provide inclusive education without discrimination. There was also a round table with the participation of professors Victoria Jara (UPS), Maria Pacheco (UCUENCA), Nube Rodas (UCACUE), Ximena Velez (UDA) and Maria Rosario Mejia (UNAE).

 

The main points were:

 

- Transversalization in academic curricula

 

- Knowledge of the diversities to live and be part of a university that looks after equity

 

- Promote equality plans within the work of universities

 

- Create observatories of equality rights protocols for nonviolence

 

- Creation of networks of universities that work for inclusion in a more just and supportive society.

 

The aim of the forum was to disseminate and promote the application of inclusion policies within higher education institutions and rescue good practices in terms of disability, gender, sexual diversity, interculturality, ethnicity and cultural diversity, as well as raising awareness of the student population on the subject.