CRES+5 was scheduled five years after the III Regional Conference on Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRES), held in Córdoba, Argentina, in 2018. This Friday, March 15th, is the final day of CRES+5 and will include a forum on higher education policies, the completion of analyses and drafts for each of the 12 thematic axes – which have been elaborated by the Working Groups (WGs) since August 2023 –, and the formulation of the Conference Declaration. Various stakeholders in higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean are attending the event to monitor and analyze the measures, achievements, and progress of the sector in the region.  

The conference is promoted by Brazil’s Ministry of Education (MEC), through the Higher Education Secretariat (Sesu) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes). It is organized in partnership with the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO-IESALC) and the Latin American and Caribbean Higher Education Space (Enlaces).  

Program – Both the forum and the meeting of the Writing Committee (in closed session) will take place in the morning. In the afternoon, the second and final conference of the event, titled "University and Society", is scheduled from 2pm to 2:40pm (Brasília time). The latter will be presented by José Geraldo de Sousa Júnior, a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Brasília (UnB), where he served as chancellor from 2008 to 2012. Following a 20-minute coffee break, the closing plenary will feature the reading of the event's Final Declaration.  

See full program   

CRES+5 – The follow-up meeting to CRES 2018 is called CRES+5 and its target audience includes chancellors, directors, academics, workers, students, higher education networks, associations and experts, research centers, trade unions, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations and all those interested in higher education on this continent. 

Among the preparatory activities for the meeting, different instances of open and participatory debate were organized as part of the event's methodology-building process. Throughout 2023, face-to-face meetings were held in Córdoba (Argentina), Puebla (Mexico), Asunción (Paraguay) and Havana (Cuba). In addition, preparatory virtual public consultations were held in order to discuss and gather information on the 12 thematic axes of CRES+5, as well as to contribute to the implementation of the Conference.   

MEC Communications Department