Rector Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles traveled to Italy last week as a member of an academic mission organized by the Group for International Cooperation of Brazilian Universities (GCUB). Directors of state, federal and community higher education institutions from all regions of the country made up the delegation, under the leadership of the president GCUB and rector of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Emmanuel Tourinho, and the group's executive director, Rossana de Souza e Silva.
The mission began with the participation of the Brazilian delegation in the Meeting between Rectors of Latin American and Caribbean Universities: Organizing Hope, held in Vatican City on the 20th and 21st of September. The program continued with visits to the Brazilian embassies in the Vatican and Italy, as well as Roma Tre University.
Meeting of rectors at the Vatican
The objective of the meeting in Vatican City, which brought together around 200 leaders from universities in Latin America and the Caribbean, was to renew the commitment of higher education institutions in the region to “care for our common home”, that is, to preserve of the planet. The activity, organized by the Network of Universities for the Care of the Common Home (RUC), had the collaboration of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL).
On the first day of the meeting, participants were divided into thematic working groups with the purpose of developing proposals for Latin American and Caribbean universities to contribute to confronting, at a regional level, the crises that affect the world population in the environmental, economic, social and cultural. Meirelles participated in the group dedicated to analyzing social issues.
On the second day of the meeting, the proposals prepared by the working groups were presented to Pope Francis. The pope commented on all the points raised by the groups, then receiving a declaration of ethics associated with the use of artificial intelligence signed by the meeting participants. The audience ended with the pontiff individually greeting each of the university leaders present.
“The Pope’s speeches in the first part of the meeting made completely clear his deep commitment, and in this case, also that of the Catholic Church as a whole, to the causes of sustainability, human rights, social justice, inclusion , refugee rights, democratic values, dialogue between different world views and different religious currents and an economy capable of meeting the needs of the population, especially its most vulnerable part”, reports Meirelles. “These are issues that today represent opinions shared by university institutions in our country and throughout Latin America and the entire Caribbean.”
“It was an honor to represent Unicamp on this occasion”, says the rector. “Furthermore, having the opportunity to greet Pope Francis, being able to give him a souvenir from our University, was a defining moment in my life. I thank the Unicamp community for the possibility of experiencing this unique event.”
Views
The visit to the Brazilian embassy in the Vatican took place on the 21st, shortly after the end of the audience with the pope. The delegation was received by Ambassador Everton Vieira Vargas, with whom he discussed issues of common interest to the Vatican, the Brazilian government and universities in both countries, such as the environment and sustainability, inclusion and social justice and the rights of original peoples. Also on the agenda were the internationalization of Brazilian universities and their relationship with the six similar institutions existing in the Vatican.
On the 22nd, the delegation was at Roma Tre University. On the occasion, the president of GCUB and the rector of Roma Tre, Massimiliano Fiorucci, signed the renewal of the existing agreement between the parties. The mission's activities ended with a reception for university leaders hosted by the Brazilian ambassador to Italy, Renato Mosca, at the headquarters of the diplomatic representation in Rome.
