Agreement with Metropolitan University builds bridges of social capital

CAF Executive President Enrique García and Metropolitan University Rector José Ignacio Moreno León signed today in Caracas a technical cooperation agreement for $119,000 to finance the Building Bridges project whose purpose is to strengthen the commitment of Andean universities to the sustainable development of the region through a new approach based on social capital and promotion of citizen participation.

After the signing, García said that among the numerous challenges that Latin America faces, social policy and the search for mechanisms to relieve poverty, generate employment and promote social equity were priorities. In this context, the CAF is committed to identifying the niches of action in the areas of human development and social capital building, which are fundamental for guiding development processes.

Building Bridges will strengthen the leadership of Andean universities in the formation of a network of organizations linked to the promotion of sustainable development, in communities that suffer from poverty and inequality in the countries participating in the project, through the practice of the principles of social capital in the sense of associativity, confidence, conduct and citizen participation.

The project is to be executed in two Andean countries - Venezuela and Bolivia - with the participation of the Metropolitan University (Unimet) of Caracas, and the Bolivian Private University - Educational Foundation (UPB) whose central campus is in Cochabamba, with technical assistance from the Social Capital Initiative (SCI) of Michigan State University (MSU).

In Venezuela, the project promotes the development of Tacarigua de la Laguna, Paz Municipality, Miranda state, through the application of the principles of social capital in a synergy between students and teachers of universities and secondary schools and members of the local community.