Colombia.- Within the framework of fostering the inclusion of ethnic groups in higher education, the National Ministry of Education, together with the Colombian Association of Universities (ASCUN), has organized the II International Forum of Inclusive Higher Education: A path toward the recognition of ethnic and cultural diversity . The purpose of the meeting is to reach national commitments in the area of inclusion in education of students who identify with and belong to ethnic groups.

According to the national census of 2005, Colombians who belong to an ethnic group correspond to 14.06% of the population. Moreover, the National Department of Statistics – DANE – notes that only 2.54% of indigenous people and 8% of the population of African descent, from San Andrés and Providencia, Palenquero speakers, Negros, and mulatos, have access to higher education.

For this reason, Colombian institutions of higher education should update their dynamics, processes, and directions in order to be inclusive and equitable. It is for this reason that the forum seeks to enrich discussion and to offer contributions for the attainment of inclusion in the higher education of Colombians who belong to Afro-Colombian and indigenous groups.


A meeting to foster inclusion

From September 9-10, this forum will bring together the national and international academic communities in order to make public strategies that contribute to fostering and promoting inclusive policies. Moreover, it seeks greater participation of ethnic groups within the education system. The headquarters of the event will be the Hotel Tequendama in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia.

The forum will make possible the sharing of important experiences and thought, coming from different levels and institutions of Colombian and foreign higher education, regarding the educational inclusion of students identified with and belonging to ethnic groups.

Moreover it will be an opportunity to analyze the challenges faced by inclusive higher education, and to fashion joint agendas in order to foster inclusion of the Afro-Colombian and indigenous population in Colombian higher education, as well as to foster the strengthening of the Network of Universities with Degrees in Ethno-Education, and of similar programs.

The meeting is aimed at administrators of institutions of higher education, secretaries of education, researchers, teachers, students, NGO's, members of the National Pedagogical Commission, the National Working Group for the Education of Indigenous People (CONCEPTI), regional indigenous committees, community and indigenous leaders, and entities interested in the subject.

Further information regarding the “II International Forum on Inclusive Higher Education: A Path Toward the Recognition of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity”, may be found on the Colombia Aprende web site www.colombiaaprende.edu.co. The progress of event may be followed through the On-line News Centre of the National Ministry of Education at www.mineducacion.gov.co/cvn