With a message addressed to the Ibero community and the University Senate, Luis Arriaga Valenzuela, rector of the Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, delivered his Third Activities Report, where the Ibero was highlighted as a space favorable to dialogue and conciliation, who actively participates in building the future.
The rector of the CDMX campus congratulated the students, bearers of the Ibero identity, for having participated in the process and meetings where the commitment to be a central space for public debate during the 2024 electoral contest was reaffirmed.
“We reinforce our commitment to being a space for the expression of differences and attention to conflicts. This is how Ibero Dialoga emerged, as a continuation of a project that began more than 20 years ago. It is an exercise in reflection and exchange with the intention of contributing to the democratic life of Mexico. It allowed us to open constructive conversations between our community and candidates for elected positions,” he said.
Arriaga also highlighted that in 2024 the institution’s academic offerings were expanded with the Ibero Secondary School, a space that reinforces the commitment that the Jesuit pedagogical model has with society, based on offering graduates a competitive international environment, as well as project an educational exercise, committed to integral human excellence to train free, critical and committed professionals in a global world.
“On August 20, 2024, we took an additional step to establish an initiative that reinforces what has already been done, especially because it will allow us to expand the Jesuit educational offering. The secondary school pedagogical model enhances the socio-emotional skills and spirituality of the students. This is how, from high school to graduate school, we strive to guide our students in their academic and human development.
A technological look
Arriaga Valenzuela highlighted the impact of Artificial Intelligence in the present and assured that it is essential to think about its ethical and legal implications. He also considered that its accelerated growth creates challenges around privacy, equity and transparency.
“Our vocation invites us to encounter the realities of the present to understand and question them to encourage dialogue rather than disqualification and from there to propose. With the help of the Organization of Ibero-American States, the first decalogue of the regional dialogue on Artificial and Emotional Intelligence was presented at Ibero. The document seeks to encourage institutions in the ethical, inclusive and responsible use of technology,” he said.
As part of his message, Arriaga Valenzuela highlighted the arrival of the first woman to the presidency of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, a phenomenon that, he assured, is the first step to the diversification of the political subject and the listening to silenced voices; However, he said he was concerned about the country’s present and that is why Ibero has responded with different initiatives.
“Together with different Jesuit institutions, we work on creating proposals to address violence, insecurity and human rights violations. Specific recommendations are offered regarding citizen security, peace education and care for victims.”
The rector of Ibero CDMX emphasized the institutional and financial growth that the university has had in the last year, while thanking the shared efforts and calling on the entire Jesuit university community to continue accompanying young people in the creation of a hopeful future, aware of their capacity and empowering their voice in search of new proposals and realities.
“I feel happy and grateful for what we have achieved so far. We took substantive steps to guarantee the sustainability of Ibero in financial and institutional terms. I value that we are a university that listens and dialogues; It is a space of consensus and dissent. Here each person finds a place to freely express their ideas, identities and aspirations. What unites us is a culture of friendship that appreciates differences and forges bonds of solidarity.
The future should encourage us. We recognize that hope is a force that is contagious and transforms us, it is an engine that drives us to see possibilities where others see obstacles. “Today, more than ever, we move forward together towards our mission, in everything to love and serve,” he concluded.
