UPS professors Freddy Simbaña and Aurora Iza attended the 2nd International Congress of the Association of Catholic Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (ODUCAL for its acronym in Spanish) to discuss the topic: "The state and interculturality: The praxis of power within cultural urgencies and initiatives of dialogue, imposition and reaction". This event was held in Chile from the 3rd to the 6th of May, where representatives from several universities and speakers from different parts of the country reflected on interculturality and the role of the state. 

Professor Iza presented the paper titled "La enseñanza de la lengua materna kichwa en un programa universitario de formación de docentes indígenas en Ecuador: Programa Académico Cotopaxi", where she explains the experience and the importance of teaching the native language Kichwa to indigenous students from the intecultural education major. 

Professor Simbaña presented the topic : "El desafío de las políticas públicas interculturales: El caso del Pueblo Kitu Kara en Ecuador". This research is part of the project "Indigenous communities and intercultural urban space in Quito", which is carried out by the university's Education and Interculturality Research Group. Professor Simbaña spoke about the results obtained after the talks held with representatives of the Kity Kara community of Kichwa nationality and officials from the municipality of Quito during 2014 and 2016. 

Professor Simbaña said his participation in the congress will contribute to research on topics related to indigenous communities as well as providing research proposals, consolidating the work of networks and recognizing the work of UPS in these academic spaces.