On April 7, 2022, within the framework of the closing panel of the Regional Consultation of Latin America and the Caribbean for the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, the document Ten axes for thinking about tomorrow’s higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean (in its Spanish version) was presented. A contribution to the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, edited by UNESCO IESALC (April 2022).

It is a brief review of the path and current status of the ten central themes around which the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference will revolve, adapted to the reality of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC):

Impact of COVID-19 on higher education in Latin America

Higher education and the Sustainable Development Goals

Data and knowledge production

Academic Mobility in higher education

International cooperation to enhance synergies

Financing higher education

Quality and relevance of programs

Higher education governance

Preparing for the futures of higher education

Inclusion in higher education

In order to situate the debate on these issues in LAC, this paper reviews the discussion that has taken place in the various editions of the Regional Conference on Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRES) in 1996, 2008 and 2018. This instance has allowed reaffirming the postulate of Higher Education as a social public good, a human and universal right, and a duty of the State in the region.

On the other hand, this look at the past and the present through CRES is articulated with a prospective review of the requirements and needs that society demands from tertiary education systems in the region. This has involved paying special attention to what experts in the field of higher education worldwide have identified as future scenarios for the aforementioned topics. Specifically, this collective work focused on global circumstances has been adapted to the particular context of the demands facing the tertiary level in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The main objective of the document is to serve as an input to guide the discussion on the tertiary level in the region, fostering dialogue to generate spaces for collaboration on the subject, as well as to raise the voices of LAC to a global discussion that integrates all perspectives for the study of increasingly diversified and interconnected higher education systems. 

Download the document in Spanish

Learn more: Latin America and the Caribbean Consultation addressed main themes of #WHEC2022