Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

In higher education, interculturality is understood as a synonym for folklore, a synonym for indigenous, and its action is reduced to the functional or romantic sphere. Although, some universities show certain advances from the folklorization of cultures and languages; nevertheless, these initial efforts do not affect curricular transformations, which means that the presence of the diversity of ancestral knowledge and knowings in these academic spaces continues to be disregarded. From indigenous peoples, interculturality clearly denotes its political historical content, that is, it has a highly emancipatory connotation that poses the overcoming of systems of colonial domination and the exercise of their collective and individual rights. This historical and political nature of the interculturality raised by indigenous peoples is not fully understood, which is why the tendencies of folklorizing in the ethnic approach, and in many cases from the pretext that "we are all equal", policies of inclusion and submission are strengthened. From these conceptions it is that this essay reflects on the different ways of understanding interculturality and its implementation, so it is assumed that it is necessary to contribute with elements of discussion to create conditions for progress towards the interculturalization of higher education.

In the first section you will find a brief tour of the context of higher education in Latin America, emphasizing laws, regulations, conventions, political constitution of countries that endorse and recognize indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples. In the second section, a brief tour of some intercultural community universities in Latin America that have been founded with a single purpose it is covered, to rescue endogenous knowledge, to professionally prepare native peoples. The third section, based on the current debate on interculturality, intercultural collaboration in research, a joint contribution with communities, where the way of collaborating from research and the existing linkage for indigenous and Afro-descendant communities is highlighted, so they can enjoy a better life plan, give answers to problems that can be solved from community research.

This article shows important achievements in the approval of norms and policies that recognize the right of peoples in terms of intercultural education, and specifically in intercultural higher education; however, the gaps between the approved and the implemented policies are still wide. Special attention requires the construction of relevant academic plans and programs that reflect the spirit of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples; even though there are obvious efforts in the implementation of affirmative actions, the access and permanence of young people in classrooms is not enough, profound changes are still required for a true interculturalization of higher education; because the challenge is not to include indigenous and Afro-descendants in Higher Education Institutions, but to transform them so they can be more relevant, inclusive and equitable.

At the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast, the reconstruction of the path of the institutional planning and evaluation process allowed the critical compilation of the experiences and demonstrate the development and growth of the institution. For this recreation of experiences, the guide “Paths to recreate and walk the experience with an intercultural gender perspective” was used, which led to experiencing the three stages of strategic planning and the two institutional self-evaluation processes that were developed. In this sense, the importance of having a variety of points of view, documentary analysis, as well as the fulfillment of a methodological route that was carried out at five different times and with particular purposes was recognized. It should be noted that the systematization process included the university community of the four URACCAN campuses and extensions, as well as the headquarter office, where the informants narrated their experiences of the 3 planning processes and the institutional evaluation processes. It was demonstrated that, at this stage, the planning and evaluation teams learned to walk hand in hand to ensure those processes. A greater institutional ordering and articulation of the areas was achieved, as a result of this, it was created the University Management System, fundamental aspects that had to do with the intercultural community university model were strengthened, the university model and its outward projection were consolidated, allowing so the achievement of local, national and international recognition

This essay presents the contributions of URACCAN as an Intercultural Community University in the University-Community linking processes for the participatory elaboration of the “Sumubila Multi-ethnic Community Bylaw, Tasba Pri Territory, Puerto Cabezas, RACCN” as a reference document for the consolidation of communal governance, regulating the rights and obligations of community members, and, above all, establishing some guidelines for the sustainable use of natural resources, among other aspects to achieve the good living of Sumubila community. In this accompaniment| process, horizontal communication and open dialogue between the parties were essential for the production of knowledge. It allowed us to travel through different experiences in the communal-territorial sphere, with a multiethnic and intercultural population as a way of opening ourselves step by step in the creation, recreation of knowledge and practices that strengthen the traditional ancestral structure, elaborated with / from and for the community in a participatory and collaborative way.

This essay emerges as a reflection of higher education aimed at indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples as main actors in the development of Intercultural Universities, in which they play a fundamental role in the search for a social connection, where experiences and challenges are knowledgeable for the development of changes in the different areas that are reflected in the way of life of the peoples, in which they generate the establishment of spaces for dialogues of knowledge between traditional and scientific knowledge, worldview of peoples and intercultural transformation in the educational system; creating new spaces in the search for fair and democratic societies. Therefore, the lessons learned from the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN), have created teaching, research and community extension processes, with which it has allowed managing and generating relevant knowledge through the active participation of students, teachers, administrative staff, institutes and research centers, implementing scientific and traditional knowledge

The University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast was created from and for the native peoples of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. This has meant that, its actions are based on accompanying development processes; but, also in revitalizing the knowledge and practices of the people who live in the region. The different actions carried out are aimed at: the offering of relevant careers for the region, studying the conditions in which native women in the region are and making proposals that lead to a more equitable relationship between men and women, monitoring of natural resources, study and promotion of autonomy, revitalization of traditional knowledge that improves people's health, linguistic research and cultural revitalization and support for the exploitation of resources in a sustainable way. The components approached from the university come to respond to the most elementary needs of a people and the reaffirmation of their identity, their resources and their culture. In addition, it implies carrying out processes of accompaniment to the regional authorities for a more conscious decision making that is based on the well-being of the people who live in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua

This article presents two particular experiences of the traveled path by the Network of Indigenous Intercultural and Community Universities of Abya Yala, RUIICAY, and the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast, URACCAN, seen from 2 processes: implementation of the linking project of intercultural communication and evaluation experience of universities in Nicaragua, in which certain characteristics of intercultural communication are evidenced. The article aims to demonstrate good practices that contribute to the systematization of processes that guarantee the higher education in historically invisible sectors that have not had the possibility to share, practice and revitalize their traditions and customs from the collectivity.

This research has analyzed the curricular elements that govern the quality and educational relevance of active students, graduates, and the Agroforestry Engineering career graduates of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast, Nueva Guinea Campus. It is based on the qualitative approach, from the bibliographic compilation to the application of open interviews and the development of a focus group. The research participants are academic authorities, teachers involved in the preparation, review and update of the Agroforestry Engineering curriculum, as well as active third-year students, students who fulfilled their study plans, graduates and representatives of employer institutions. The results indicate that URACCAN is an educational institution with relevant achievements of prestige and reliability where the quality of the agroforestry curriculum is highlighted, satisfying the articulation given in different stages, it makes theoretical proposals in relation to the subject; However, the need to adapt strategies and methodologies that consent meaningful learning according to social demands in the labor market is pointed out. The agroforestry career is relevant from its curricular foundations, favored by the characteristics of the geographical region and the institutional philosophy of the university; although there are still aspects to improve seen from the professional performance of the professionals, it is recommended to emphasize the operationalization of the curriculum, the development of practices, contents and elementary subjects of the career, to obtain greater scientific-technical knowledge, contextualized to the demands and tendencies of the region.

This research has evaluated the teachers´ performance in the Complementary English Courses of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast-Nueva Guinea Campus, during the first semester, 2018. The study is based on a methodology with a mixed approach, endorsed by a descriptive design and exploratory scope, therefore, instruments were applied as guides for the documentary review of printed and electronic materials, as well as questionnaires with a Likert scale to university teachers and students. The main findings show the responsibility of teachers in lesson planning; the learning organization; the evaluation system used in the courses; communication processes and interpersonal relationships; team work; the motivation level and its incidence in the teachers practice. It is concluded that the pedagogical capacities of the teachers are very good, that is to say, most of them provide tools for the students to promote their personal development and that of their community, through motivation strategies; however, they do not aim to develop relevant methodologies to facilitate the educational process, especially in intercultural gender relations.