Carlos Castillo-Chávez participated on Enlazados por la Paz, a summit in favor of Peace and higher education

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, along with other six Colombian education institutions organized the summit Enlazados por la Paz that was simultaneously held in several cities of the country. The event was held from August 22 to 28, 2017. Carlos Castillo-Chávez, rector of the Ecuadorian University Yachay Tech participated in the entire program of  Universidad Nacional and was the opening speaker of the event of the institution on its office in Medellin on August 25, and participated in a panel on the event. The topic of the day was “Post conflict, peace and education in Antioquia” where Castillo-Chávez talked about his experience in education for minorities.

The objective of the summit was to promote dialogue, reflection, and academic cooperation spaces that allow constructing peace in Colombia and highlighting the role of higher education on social transformation processes. Universidad de Los Andes, Universidad de la Sabana, Universidad de La Salle, Universidad del Rosario, Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración, and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana participated on the summit with independent agendas.

Carlos Castillo-Chávez was invited due to his experience in education for minorities. The rector of Yachay Tech founded the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI) in 1996 with the objective of providing a greater access to mathematical sciences to those who are not candidates for elite universities like Cornell University, where he was a professor for 18 years and where he originally founded the Institute. For 2004, Carlos Castillo-Chávez moved the MTBI to Arizona State University where he would have more access to Latino communities. Since then, Carlos had managed to expand the access to mathematics and promoting research among the young in different social and cultural contexts.

The MTBI had allowed Castillo-Chávez to be the mentor of more than 500 students, 50% of them were minorities that were little represented in the field of mathematics and where only 70% of students had US residency. For more information on the event, agendas of the participating institutions and contact information, you can access the website of the event.