Intercultural University of Veracruz: a holistic project promoting intercultural education

Abstract

This paper describes the Intercultural University of Veracruz (UVI), an institutional Programme at the University of Veracruz in Mexico (Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural), as a product of the analysis and research carried out over a 10‐year period on cultural diversity and education. There were several institutions and over 20 people involved in the project. In November 2004, the UVI was formally created and, within a record time, it was operating. By December 2005, four centres were established in four different intercultural regions of Veracruz: Selvas, Grandes Montañas, Huasteca and Totonacapan. A web site, partially written in several indigenous languages, was created to disseminate its activities. UVI is working closely with the Laboratory of Intercultural Studies at the University of Granada and INTER Group of UNED, both in Spain. We present its rationale, the process that led to its creation, and its current status.