852
S. M. Weber and M. A. Tascón
Finally it has to be said, that the basic principle of ‘Buen Vivir’ connects to a
variety of global approaches. Arne Naess (1912–2009), for example, is one of the
most important representatives of ‘Deep Ecology’, or Aldo Leopold (1887–1948),
who had mid of the twentieth century with his ethics of sustainability strong influence, presented similar thoughts. Additionally, eco-feminist approaches connect to
‘Buen Vivir’, for example Vandana Shiva’s approach, which can be understood as a
postcolonial political concept. ‘Sumak Kawsay’ is to be regarded as a societal alternative, transcending the world of indigenous people and of intercultural relevance
(Cortez and Wagner 2010).
3 Alternative and Indigenous Universities of Latin
America—State of the Art
Within European debates sustainability networks like ‘COPERNICUS’ (network
for cooperation of European universities for European knowledge exchange and
exchange of experiences in sustainable development (in 1993)) or the ‘Global Higher
Education Partnership for Sustainability’ (GHEPS) have been established (in 2001).
Unfortunately, these developments and debates lack sufficient connections to the
Latin American sustainability discourse.
In the late 1960s, within the South American educational debates, consciousness
has been rising in relevance to Higher Education, especially in the field of sustainability. Some universities have been involved since the 1990s in sustainability
initiatives (ALBA 2006). Since 1992, from the Earth Summit, many initiatives have
emerged. The educational scientist, Germán Vargas Callejas, in his article “Vision
and integration of the environmental perspective of the Indigenous University of
Bolivia—UNIBOL” (Vargas Callejas 2014) presents, how in Bolivian Universities a
sustainability concept has been implemented, which refers to three axes; knowledge
production, consciousness rising and sensitizing within the Higher Education community, and sustainability and environmental planning and administration. These
axes cover the inclusion of sustainability issues in Academia and its surrounding
communities while fostering participation within them. Organizational and administrative initiatives are deemed necessary to Vargas (2014) in order to support usage
of responsible natural resources as well as undertaking risk management within the
context of Higher Education.
Within the ALBA Summit (Bolivarian Alliance of the American people, 2006) a
multilateral Trade Treaty was drafted to support the fostering and consolidation of
academic engagement as a guiding principle of the beginning of sustainable development of Higher Education. These requests for a new conceptualization of tertiary
education are grounded within a project based approach of design oriented teaching
and learning as well as research. Here, participatory and design oriented research as
well as transformative education can be supported, like academic councils in Europe,
ask for, too (WBGU 2011).
S. M. Weber and M. A. Tascón
Finally it has to be said, that the basic principle of ‘Buen Vivir’ connects to a
variety of global approaches. Arne Naess (1912–2009), for example, is one of the
most important representatives of ‘Deep Ecology’, or Aldo Leopold (1887–1948),
who had mid of the twentieth century with his ethics of sustainability strong influence, presented similar thoughts. Additionally, eco-feminist approaches connect to
‘Buen Vivir’, for example Vandana Shiva’s approach, which can be understood as a
postcolonial political concept. ‘Sumak Kawsay’ is to be regarded as a societal alternative, transcending the world of indigenous people and of intercultural relevance
(Cortez and Wagner 2010).
3 Alternative and Indigenous Universities of Latin
America—State of the Art
Within European debates sustainability networks like ‘COPERNICUS’ (network
for cooperation of European universities for European knowledge exchange and
exchange of experiences in sustainable development (in 1993)) or the ‘Global Higher
Education Partnership for Sustainability’ (GHEPS) have been established (in 2001).
Unfortunately, these developments and debates lack sufficient connections to the
Latin American sustainability discourse.
In the late 1960s, within the South American educational debates, consciousness
has been rising in relevance to Higher Education, especially in the field of sustainability. Some universities have been involved since the 1990s in sustainability
initiatives (ALBA 2006). Since 1992, from the Earth Summit, many initiatives have
emerged. The educational scientist, Germán Vargas Callejas, in his article “Vision
and integration of the environmental perspective of the Indigenous University of
Bolivia—UNIBOL” (Vargas Callejas 2014) presents, how in Bolivian Universities a
sustainability concept has been implemented, which refers to three axes; knowledge
production, consciousness rising and sensitizing within the Higher Education community, and sustainability and environmental planning and administration. These
axes cover the inclusion of sustainability issues in Academia and its surrounding
communities while fostering participation within them. Organizational and administrative initiatives are deemed necessary to Vargas (2014) in order to support usage
of responsible natural resources as well as undertaking risk management within the
context of Higher Education.
Within the ALBA Summit (Bolivarian Alliance of the American people, 2006) a
multilateral Trade Treaty was drafted to support the fostering and consolidation of
academic engagement as a guiding principle of the beginning of sustainable development of Higher Education. These requests for a new conceptualization of tertiary
education are grounded within a project based approach of design oriented teaching
and learning as well as research. Here, participatory and design oriented research as
well as transformative education can be supported, like academic councils in Europe,
ask for, too (WBGU 2011).