Reflection on the work of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN) as an intercultural community university

Abstract

In Latin America and the Caribbean, several intercultural community universities have emerged promoted by indigenous people, Afro-descendants and other ethnic communities, with the enthusiasm of offering their communities an education of their own according to their cultures, ways of thinking, and ways of living, knowings and practices. In Nicaragua, URACCAN is one of them; However, the work of this type of universities has not been easy, due to the resistance of recognizing them as such, to the point that government authorities in some countries attack their existence, alleging lack of quality, promoting until closing in some cases. Therefore, it is important to share the work of intercultural community universities in a way that helps the community in general to know and recognize the importance of these universities. In this sense, this essay describes the work of URACCAN; showing the positive results that it has had both in its construction as an intercultural community public university and with the strengthening of the Nicaraguan Regional Autonomy and recognition at the international level.