Francesco Gervasi, professor and researcher at the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila is participating this year in the RED LATINOAMERICANA (Latin American network) for the social change and emancipatory learning, in collaboration with the Universita Di Siena.
During this presentation, Gervasi stressed that its main objective is to promote interdisciplinary studies for Latin-American counties communities’ development, in accordance with the mission, vision and values of our university, with a humanistic approach that favors an insight of reality mainly seeking the emancipatory development of the environment with a global and equity perspective.
The researcher noted that one of UAdeC´s fundamental tasks is to merge education, research and culture with the public, private and social sectors, contributing to sustainability with a global and equitable practice; therefore, their collaboration in the network will strengthen the actions and strategies implemented and will promote the development of new ones to achieve the goals.
He emphasized the importance of collaborating within the network, since Universities have a key role in the training of future generations and in the dissemination of knowledge. All communities and territories in the network benefit, since we work together with institutions in Italy, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, strengthening research work and promoting the exchange of experiences.
In this sense, social and cultural transformation processes that characterize late modernity force us to define and dialogue, from a transdisciplinary, transversal and international approach. This leads to carefully reflect and take concrete actions that, in addition to promoting sustainable development, seek fair and lasting socio-educational processes to help improve the quality of life of communities at risk of exclusion and lack of possibilities.
In this scenario, Universita Di Siena through its Department of Education, Human Sciences and Intercultural Communication promotes and coordinates the network, recognizing the complexity of its institutional purposes and the importance of creating effective strategic partnerships.
Gervasi commented that within the Faculty of Communication Sciences, we consider going beyond globalization one of the main challenges of the globalized world, since it has developed almost exclusively economically, without addressing the rights of people and their sustainable development possibilities / capacities.
“Specifically, in our Faculty of Communication Sciences we see communication as a means to favor social change, eliminate conflicts and foster the autonomous and integral development of the communities and people around us,” he said.
For this reason, the main contribution in this network lies in carrying out research from communication, identity and culture, with a multidisciplinary theoretical and practical approach, to benefit alternative models of social change, where the members of the communities involved are the leading characters of the story.
In this way, research and intervention actions are supported, as well as training activities, publications and events among the different countries of Latin America that consider the development and training of individuals and communities an emancipatory key capable of starting democratic change in societies.
