Canadian University Projects in International Development Database (CUPID)

Americas

Mexico

• Women, Poverty and Education in Mexico
• Connecting Campus and Community
• Programme pour les coopératives
• CDEC: Building Community Economic Development Capacity in Latin America
• Building Community Economic Development Capacity in Latin America
• Développement économique local
• Indigenous Studies and Education Program

Women, Poverty and Education in Mexico

Project purpose:
The purpose of the project was to foster a positive social change for Mexican women with regard to gender equality, economic well-being and participation in civic life.

Key results to date:
An innovative two-year community development program that effectively integrates practice and theory has been established. The quality of life of participants and their families has improved as a result of the program because of improved employment of graduates. For example, 122 women have graduated from the program and at least 70 graduates from the first and second generations have secured employment with local NGOs or businesses. Others have started community-based projects and formed independent NGOs. As part of the program requirements, participants have developed and implemented over 50 community projects that respond to critical community needs. Four education centres were established in Tijuana and one in Mexicali. On admittance to the program, women are studying to meet state requirements for secondary education. The project team and project participants have also developed skills in participatory monitoring and evaluation. Additional funding has been secured from the state of Baja California.

Indigenous Studies and Education Program

Project purpose:
The purpose of the project was to strengthen the capacity of the Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (UNACH) to recruit indigenous students and to offer a curriculum that is culturally sensitive and relevant to enhancing the skills they require to address the priority development needs of their communities. The project is a model for how indigenous higher education impacts can be achieved through cooperation and peaceful means, and partners ensured that indigenous communities participated, thus gaining greater confidence in their ability to change their conditions.

Key results to date:
The project supported capacity-building to develop and sustain a bachelor in management and indigenous self-development within UNACH's new faculty of indigenous studies in San Cristobal de las Casas, a master of indigenous education within UNACH's faculty of humanities in Tuxtla Gutierrez, and a specialization in international indigenous studies within the First Nations University of Canada (FNUC). The graduates of the master's program in Mexico are now employed as school principals, regional education supervisors, managers of indigenous education and university instructors. Furthermore, the master's program that was developed will serve as a reference to develop a new master's program at FNUC.

Programme pour les coopératives

Project purpose:
The objective of the project is to ensure better collaboration and integration in the cooperative environment, improved performances in existing cooperatives, development of new cooperatives and a better understanding of cooperative principles among the population at large.

Key results to date:
The project has strengthened collaboration within the Mexican cooperative movement. When it ended, the programs in cooperativism and social economics of the two partner universities in Mexico were improved. Faculty members conducted 34 research projects on cooperative-related topics that led to a number of written and audio-visual publications, including instructional tools. In total, 439 students, predominantly women, earned a university degree and 76 cooperators took custom-designed courses for credit. Other training has been offered to more than 2,000 people from 11 regions in the country. Student activities brought about the creation of 40 cooperatives and the strengthening of several others, primarily in rural communities. Small and medium-sized cooperatives have formed national associations and local unions to express their viewpoints more effectively, particularly in relation to the cooperatives legislation. Finally, 31 Mexican professors, students and cooperators have travelled to Canada to learn about Canadian cooperatives.

Building Community Economic Development Capacity in Latin America

Project purpose:
Community economic development (CED) is a community-based and directed process that combines social and economic development aimed at the economic, social, ecological and cultural well-being of communities and regions. The project's purpose is to develop local capacity in CED to help start and enlarge small businesses and community enterprises to improve the quality of life in low-income communities in Mexico and, ultimately, other parts of Latin America.

Key results to date:
The three partners developed a seven-course community economic development (CED) certificate training program in Spanish that was launched in Cuernavaca in January 2003. By project end, 197 students (48 percent women) from 11 Mexican states had taken the certificate program. Students were NGO workers, community development professionals, community leaders, government employees and the general public. Collaboration with and support from the Morelos Delegation of the National Institute for Indigenous Development (CDI) resulted in an all-indigenous cohort from which 27 students were certified. This partnership also facilitated program promotion to indigenous groups in other states of Mexico. A blended learning format for distance education (part face-to-face, part online) including a web portal and pedagogical tools was developed in partnership with a small private sector technology firm run by graduates from the Instituto Technológico y de Estudios Superiores. The online program was launched in 2006 with 30 students from six Mexican states. The project attracted additional support from local, regional and national institutions, namely a Morelos State agricultural technical school, CDI and Mexico's National Institute for Social Development. Morelos State's Secretary for Public Education has officially accredited the CDEC Program as a CED training option.

Connecting Campus and Community

Project purpose:
The project aims to enhance the responsiveness of the Mexican university to resources, needs and priorities at the community level.

Key results to date:
The social development program of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos has been strengthened by promoting self-sufficiency and self-awareness among the rural population and by increasing the frequency and quality of interactions between the university and the community. Changes were introduced in pedagogical approaches and in curriculum content to incorporate indigenous knowledge. The project was also instrumental in improving human resource management at the institutional level. Over 2,200 people were trained, of which 64 percent were women. Gender and human rights were at the core of the training. Community-based groups were created and trained, reaching 250 members. Local action plans were implemented in three rural communities. As a result, participants in Nepopoalco received extensive training in herbal and traditional medicine; the women of Totolapan were able to launch micro-economic projects and, in Ahuatepec, the project helped support the construction and management of a community health centre that offers health promotion workshops, mental health education and psychological counselling. Finally, more than 500 university students were trained in a variety of disciplines and actively participated in community development work.

Développement économique local

Project purpose:
The objective of the project was to increase in a sustainable manner the capacity of the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) to train human resources in response to priority needs of the North Eastern region of the State of Puebla in regards to its socioeconomic development.

Key results to date:
The social and economic monitoring computer tool for the Zautla-Ixtacamaxtitlán region, SIDEL, created by the project is operational. Two electronic atlases are also in service. These tools are now used in the regular training provided by Cesder (Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Rural) and in the courses for the new undergraduate curriculum offered by the Faculty of economics at BUAP. In all, 319 faculty members, managers and students have received various types of training. The project's new Web site hosts all the products created during the life of the project. The project strengthened in a sustainable manner the capacities of both partner institutions in Mexico and has enabled them to better respond to the needs of Puebla's North Eastern region in terms of socioeconomic development. The project also contributed to implementing changes in institutional policies at the university and the Cesder which altered their perception of their relationships with local governments.