The University of Granada is currently hosting the XIX Meeting of Rectors of the Tordesillas Group, bringing together 73 representatives from 35 universities in Brazil, Spain and Portugal. The event, which bears the slogan “Inclusive universities to progress in the 2030 Agenda”, will explore how universities can best contribute to the global objectives adopted by UNESCO in 2015 as part of a new agenda for sustainable development aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all.
Over the course of three days, from 11 to 13 November, thirteen key speakers will examine the objectives of reducing inequality, achieving gender equality and guaranteeing quality education. Alongside the other participants, they will examine models designed to promote diversity, the presence of women in science and the broader participation of underrepresented groups in higher education.
About the Tordesillas Group
The Tordesillas Group is an academic network made up of universities from Brazil, Portugal and Spain that strives to promote collaboration among the member universities in the fields of science and technology. It emphasises scientific and educational cooperation as a pivotal element in the role that academic institutions must perform in a world increasingly marked by profound social, scientific and technological changes. The Tordesillas Group was created as part of the I Meeting of Rectors from Brazilian, Portuguese and Spanish Universities in June 2000, which took place as part of commemorations marking 500 years since the European discovery of Brazil. The network currently comprises 54 universities (25 from Brazil, 20 from Spain and 9 from Portugal).
Opening ceremony
The XIX Meeting of Rectors, which is sponsored by Santander Universities, was inaugurated at the Faculty of Law on Monday 12 November by the Rector of the University of Granada, Pilar Aranda Ramírez, who is also the current Chairperson of the Tordesillas Group. The event also involves the participation of the General Secretary for Universities, Research and Technology of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Manuel Torralbo Rodríguez; the Mayor of Granada, Francisco Cuenca Rodríguez; and the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Miguel Olmedo Cardenete.
The inaugural conference was delivered by the ex-Director General of UNESCO and current President of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, who introduced the main topics up for discussion with a talk entitled ‘A 2030 Agenda to transform the world’.
Before the opening ceremony got under way, a new agreement was also signed between the Tordesillas Group and the Carolina Foundation, with the aim of providing 12 grants for short research periods abroad. Thanks to these new grants, over the course of the 2019-2020 academic year teaching staff and doctoral researchers from the Portuguese and Brazilian universities in the Tordesillas Group will be able to undergo training at the Spanish universities that also make up the Group.
Additionally, the I Meeting of the Tordesillas Doctoral Schools is taking place at the same time as the Meeting of Rectors. This parallel event will bring together over 50 teaching staff and doctoral candidates from the three participating countries. The Tordesillas Doctoral Schools work to promote academic and scientific collaboration among the research groups and departments at the universities that make up the Tordesillas Group, facilitating the mobility of students and staff and the organisation of joint activities. There are currently 4 Schools in the areas of Nursing; Physics; Public Health and History of Science; and Languages, Societies and Cultures.
During the meeting, participants will also have the opportunity to go on guided tours of the Guadix region, the University of Granada’s rich heritage sites (such as the Hospital Real — the 16th century building which is the seat of the Rectorate) and different research institutes and laboratories located at the Health Sciences Technology Park (PTS).
