Representatives from Universidad Politecnica Salesiana (UPS) and the Ecuadorian Committee of International Museums (ICOM – Ecuador) signed a cooperation agreement that will allow both institutions to discuss proposals and practices in academia, training and support the development of this sector in Ecuador. The agreement was signed by Juan Cardenas, President of UPS, and Juan Carlos Fernandez, president of ICOM – Ecuador. 

One of the first activities will be the "International Professional Training Workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean: Sustainability and Social Inclusion in Museums" from the 15th to the 19th of November. The speakers and guides come from different countries; the guided visits will be to different museums around the world.

Fernandez thanked the university for its support and stressed the importance of transmitting natural and cultural heritage worldwide now and in the future, tangible and intangible. He presented the professional and ethical standards of museum activities to promote the training and cultural awareness of people through global networks of cooperation.

Juan Cardenas stated: “We are happy to celebrate the signing of this agreement here in the Abya-Yala museum which was founded in 1957 and has been built with the work of Salesians. There are many Salesians, visionary men who have made intercultural humanity known to the world”.

He stressed the importance of working in museums to enable people´s identity to prevail. He stated that today there is a new awareness around heritage, and said that the agreement between UPS and ICOM Ecuador is a great opportunity not only for those who work in the museum but also for students of the Master’s degree in Cultural Management.

The signing was also attended by Fernando Pesántez, General vice president; Diego Peñaloza, Head of Research; María Sol Villagómez, vice president in our branch campus in Quito Quito, Laura Falceri, coordinator of the Master’s degree in Cultural Management; as well as teachers and officials from ICOM Ecuador.