This document summarizes the experience of Alejandro Chao Barona with the UAEM-UNICEDES program over 10 years. It outlines the principles of the university and UNICEDES program, including being an interdisciplinary center for educational and social development with international links. It describes the facilities in Temixco and Tetela del Volcan and programs involving knowledge interchange, identity/health feasts, books, radio programs, and working with older community members. Opportunities and challenges are discussed, and conclusions call for defining the university's role, increasing resources for research training, and preparing teams for respectful community interaction.

1. UAEM-UNICEDES
TEN YEARS COMMUNITY WORK
EXPERIENCE
ALEJANDRO CHAO BARONA (PH.D)
IAU-MONZAMBIQUE
JANUARY 2007

3. Tetela del
Volcán
CRUV
Temixco
UNICEDES

4. UNIVERSITY and UNICEDES PRINCIPLES
The UAEM must be the autonomous public institution for
social tranformation through hi h education, research
i l f i h h higher d i h
projets and cultural extension
UNICEDES is an educational and social development p
centre
UNICEDES is an inter-disciplinary, inter-sectorial, inter-
cultural, inter-institutional university unit with
inter institutional
international links.
UNICEDES is the university space where it is possible, to
hear, respect, learn,
hear respect learn teach and service groups of small
peasant’s villages, indigenous towns, and different groups
of vulnerable, marginal and excluded people.

5. FACILITIES
UNIDAD CENTRAL DE ESTUDIOS
PARA EL DESARROLLO SOCIAL
TEMIXCO

6. CENTRO REGIONAL UNIVERSITARIO DEL VOLCAN
TETELA DEL VOLCAN’S FACILITIES

7. KNOWLEDGE’S INTERCHANGE BETWEEN
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITIES
episthemological and inter-disciplinary critical revision of
the public universitary role in sustainable and integral
social development, regional and local, in a new global and
multicultural world;
open mind to hear and learn from the traditional
community skills and their world vision
methodological creative variations to get better outcomes
in participative research projects of community and
university teams;
change of strategies in university participative action
creation of Regional University Extension Centers.
g y

9. CENTRO REGIONAL DE EXTENSION UNIVERSITARIA TEMIXCO

10. CENTRO REGIONAL DE EXTENSION UNIVERSITARIA TETELA DEL VOLCAN

12. FIESTAS DE IDENTIDAD
(
(IDENTITY FEASTS)
)

13. FIESTAS DE LA SALUD (HEALTH FEASTS)

14. UNICEDES BOOKS

15. RADIO UAEM
VOCES DEL VIENTO
RADIO PROGRAMS WITH
THE OLD PEOPLE

16. Opportunities
The liti l i i
Th political vision of th public university authorities t
f the bli i it th iti to
improve a Social Development Studies Unity
The excellent research team’s preparation
The t
Th team’s liberality f work with diff
’ lib lit for k ith different methodologies f
t th d l i for
accept to integrate in their projects the skills and traditional
knowledge of communities at the same time with the
university technologies, sciences and humanities
technologies
Open mind of the participative university students with the
ideas and customs of rural people
The possibility of interdisciplinary work with different
University Faculties
The opportunity to work with the Canadian Calgary University
Excellent relations with local authorities

20. Challenges
Lack of definition of public university authorities about
k f d fi i i f bli i i h ii b
the project of the Social Development Studies Unity.
University epistemological rejection of the communities
y p g j
traditional k
d l knowledge
l d
Problems of the research team to systematize the amount
of information of the complex aspects of integral social
p p g
development
Problems of full understanding of different codes of
communication: the Morelos university, the team , the
y,
Canadian and the community codes.
The change of university and state authorities each six
y
years and of local authorities each three yyears

23. CONCLUSIONS
The need of an international definition of the main role
of public universities in sub-development countries
The need to h
h d have more resources f training the
for h
research teams in the field work
The need to prepare the research teams in a respectful
interaction with the communities
Open even more the interaction with local authorities
p
International diffusion and spread of the experiences
We can learn from everybody an offer our experience.

24. THANKS