Kick-Off Meeting of the BRAVIOO Project – ERASMUS

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THE BRAVIOO ERASMUS+ PROJECT STARTED IN SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA WITH GREAT SUCCESS

With the aim of strengthening and learning about the good practices of the Departments that support the university community, through work in the areas of Human Rights, security and governance, supporting student well-being in Latin American universities, the kick-off meeting of the Erasmus+ project, called BRAVIOO, coordinated by the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) and co-financed by the European Union, was held at the Universidad Tecnológica Privada de Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

The European partners were the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), the Universidade da Beira Interior of Portugal, the Spanish consulting firm OpenODS and the intervention of representatives of eight Latin American universities: the National University of Córdoba and the National University of the Northeast of Argentina; the Private Technological University of Santa Cruz and the Private University of Valle of Bolivia; Adolfo Ibáñez University and the University of the Border of Chile and the National Autonomous University of Honduras and the Francisco Morazán National Pedagogical University of Honduras.

Emilio Olías Ruiz, University Ombudsman of the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) and coordinator of the project, indicated that “the aim is to transfer a model of extension of human rights that is well established in Europe under the umbrella of the University Ombudsman, to the Departments with similar experiences existing in Latin American Universities, with the intention that they can have greater support, thus improving all aspects related to human rights that exist in each country.”

During the meeting, the seven work packages were coordinated: the action plan, the legal and financial areas, as well as the roles and responsibilities, the technical details and existing requirements of the project, but the most significant thing has been the team cohesion that was revealed in this first experience. Getting to know each other among the participants of the event was very important, since each one shared ideas, experiences and experiences of their institutions to strengthen the links between the different cultures that are part of BRAVIOO. Each member agreed that it is vital to promote understanding and contact between the members of the collaborating universities, in addition to developing awareness work through the training of the participating entities in the aforementioned areas.

The results of the project will be reflected in the production of a web page where the project will be made visible, the publication of the Green Book that will collect the reflections and proposals of the participants from the Universities in Latin America, the design of a MOOC course for the training of defenders or officials who are dedicated to working on strengthening university well-being, a toolbox for the creation of ombudsmen and meetings for the exchange of good practices in human development, governance, security, peace and human rights.

It is important to mention that the project works for and by the students, who are the main objective and it is for this reason that there was student representation, through the student of the UTEPSA Law degree, María Fernanda Arancibia, who highlighted the integration of the student body in the work that will be carried out, promoting the protection, defense of the rights and well-being of the student of each participating university.

The project has been very well received by the European Union, which supports the modernization, internationalization and easy access to higher education by European and Latin American universities. The next meeting will be held in June 2024 at the Universidade da Beira Interior in Portugal, where the actions carried out in the project up to that date will be evaluated.