“He who does not live to serve is not useful to live,” said the Indian philosopher Rabindranath Tagore to express the urgency with which each person should contribute to the improvement and benefit of your community.
This is what social responsabilityone of the fundamental values that make society function and the heart of the comprehensive humanistic training of the Anáhuac Querétaro University. Beyond being a higher education institution, our commitment is to inspire you to become a positive action leadercapable of having a real impact on your environment.
So, today we want to share with you a little about the history of university social responsibilityfrom its origins on our continent to the present, and how it has defined the social conscience and the educational model of Anáhuac Querétaro.
The origin of university social responsibility
Universities have a immediate commitment to societyby directly influencing the thought and actions of future citizens. Although since the beginning of the 20th century, the so-called “social function” of the university was already being discussed in academic forums on the continent, it was not until 1949 that the role of this institution beyond the academic was defined in the first Congress of Latin American Universities.
Little by little, higher education institutions were transforming their efforts, until in 1998, the UNESCO established that one of the most important missions of universities was that their students participate actively and responsibly in society. This commitment has since been extended to preservation of the environment and sustainability.
In Mexico in particular, the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES) stands out eight principles that every university should promote, among which, four are based on the social action: relevance in relation to the needs of the country; equity; humanism and commitment to building a better society.
Currently, universities in our country are very clear that every activity they carry out must be based on four processes or social action fronts:
- Internal management: based on processes of transparency, democracy and equity, and for the benefit of the environment and sustainability.
- Training: includes both students as future socially conscious professionals, and the training of their teachers.
- Investigation: the promotion and production of socially relevant knowledge, through ethical practices.
- Extension or social projection: through practical projects in which students become directly involved in the development of the social community.
Implementation and benefits
Given this scenario, contributing to the benefit of society may seem challenging, but the community of the Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro knows, from years of experience, that there is no single way to do it. On the contrary, all our students have tools and skills that make them valuable for different projects. The key is to discover which one calls us and have the courage to act.
For this, the department ASUA “Social Action of the Anáhuac University”is dedicated to organizing various volunteer activities in which each student can contribute to solve the social problems in your community.
Currently, we have 20 programs with a different approach for the benefit of populations of all ages. In just the last few weeks we have reaffirmed the radical impact of these volunteer activities, for example with the ASUA Buildsin which, over a weekend, groups of students built four houses in the community of Ocuituco, Morelos.
Also, we have been involved in projects in collaboration with organizations such as the Teletón Children's Oncology Hospital, through the Blood donation and platelets.
Social responsibility as a reflection of Anáhuac values
It is logical that the university social responsibility be such a high priority in our educational model. After all, at Anáhuac Querétaro we insist that the development of the person and society It is more than an institutional requirement: it is the purpose very of our existence.
Think about it like this: without social responsibility in the university community, students would not have a complete education. The university space is founded precisely on the value of universalitywhile nothing human should be foreign to us.
Taking this as a maxim, the social awareness and the Actions What we take in response to it will lead us to think about another way of living in community.
Needless to say, the entire community of the Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro is proud to be part of social change. The fact that our students actively seek to build a fairer and more sustainable future It is a sign that the Anáhuac footprint will continue to represent the best of social transformation in Mexico.
“These types of activities make you value what you have and be grateful for it, just as it makes you feel in some way that you can contribute your grain of sand by helping more people, and by doing so you end up helping yourself to grow personally.” Carol Tello, fourth semester of the Marketing degree at the Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro.
If you are not yet part of this great family, do not hesitate to join one of the ASUA programs. Stay tuned for our social networks so you don't miss out on all our events and activities.
No matter who you are or where you come from, you can too transform your reality.
