Guatemala City, September 20, 2025
The Central American University Confederation commemorates 77 years of integration and reaffirms its commitment to science, inclusion, and regional innovation.
The Central American University Confederation and its highest governing body, the Central American University Superior Council (CSUCA), celebrate today 77 years of institutional life, reaffirming its historical role as the first university integration organization in Central America, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Since its creation in 1948, during the First Central American University Congress held in San Salvador, the CSUCA has been a pioneering space for academic, scientific, and cultural collaboration among the region's public universities. That first Declaration of Principles laid the foundation for understanding the university as an engine of social transformation, a defender of autonomy, and a promoter of Central American integration.
Trajectory and regional consolidation
In more than seven decades, the Confederation has overcome moments of great challenges, always managing to keep alive the vision of an integrated regional public higher education.
A key milestone has been the development of the Regional Integration Plans for Higher Education (PIRESC), which have guided university cooperation since the 1960s. The current PIRESC V, approved in 2021 following the IX Central American University Congress, serves as the roadmap guiding programs in management, research, educational quality, student life, internationalization, community engagement, inter-university cooperation, and communication.
The work of CSUCA is structured through eight regional university systems:
- The Central American System for Evaluation and Harmonization of Higher Education (SICEVAES) is the system that promotes a culture of quality and accreditation;
- Central American and Caribbean Regional System for Research and Postgraduate Studies (SIRCIP), a system that strengthens research and postgraduate studies;
- The Regional Student Life System (SIREVE) is the one that promotes student life and inclusion;
- The Central American Higher Education Internationalization System (SIESCA) is the driving force behind university internationalization;
- The Central American System of University-Society Relations (SICAUS) is the one that articulates the university-society relationship, through the promotion of university extension and linkage;
- Integrated Central American Documentary Information System (SIIDCA), which integrates library and documentary systems;
- The Central American University Publishing System (SEDUCA) coordinates university publishing production;
- and the Regional System of University Information and Communication (SIREICU) was recently created to strengthen regional university communication.
These systems are not isolated structures, but active networks that allow the CSUCA agreements to be put into practice and shape projects that directly impact students, teachers, researchers and communities.
Remarks by the Secretary-General
During the commemoration, the Secretary General of CSUCA, MSc. Carlos Guillermo Alvarado Cerezo, stated, “Seventy-seven years ago, the Rectors who presided over our public universities at that time decided to unite to build a shared future. Today, that spirit of unity remains more relevant than ever. University integration is a living project that strengthens education, science, and culture as public goods at the service of our people. In a time marked by social, environmental, and technological challenges, we reinforce our commitment to promoting inclusive, innovative, and transformative higher education, capable of responding to the needs of Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.”
Commitment to inclusive science
On this 77th anniversary, CSUCA highlights the work that, together with strategic allies, promotes the development and strengthening of higher education, through various collaborative research projects, highlighting at this time the Project “Strengthening inclusive science and innovation systems in Latin America through a collaborative research network”, funded by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC).
The project, implemented under the coordination of CSUCA and with the support of the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Commission for Scientific and Technological Development of Central America and Panama (CTCAP) and the national science and technology agencies of the countries of the region, seeks to articulate the research-innovation-inclusion nexus, generating knowledge and solutions that respond to the needs of historically excluded groups.
In recent years, it has fostered the development of 16 consortia, and currently includes 13 collaborative research networks, as well as studies on gender and science funding. These efforts are especially focused on rural communities, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, women, people with disabilities, and youth in Central America and the Dominican Republic, reaffirming CSUCA's commitment to transformative, equitable science that serves society.
A current mission
The mission of the Central American University Confederation is clear: to promote the development of public universities through cooperation and joint work with society and the State, acting under principles of commitment, solidarity, transparency, and equity. Its vision is to consolidate itself as a leading organization in regional university integration, promoting mobility, Central American cultural identity, and educational quality with social justice and sustainability.
English 
Español de Guatemala