Beyond Borders: UNAM’s Commitment to Migrant Support
The UNAM at Mexico’s Borders project, launched five years ago, exemplifies UNAM’s dedication to supporting the country’s most vulnerable populations, particularly migrant communities.
Mario Luis Fuentes Alcalá, Vice President of UNAM’s Board of Trustees, emphasized the initiative’s significance in fostering development in border regions, addressing social challenges, and advocating for human rights.
This project was established to address the urgent need to support migrants who have historically faced human rights violations. In 2020, UNAM entered into a formal partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a collaboration that has since been renewed. Together, they focus on three key areas: validating academic credentials for migrants, providing Spanish language instruction to non-speakers, and advocating for human rights.
Fuentes Alcalá highlighted the active involvement of the university community, with numerous academic departments, programs, and seminars participating in efforts to assist refugees and migrants. The initiative sends scholarship recipients and service-learning participants, including medical professionals, dentists, psychologists, and architects, to provide hands-on support in border regions.
The project’s academic dimension includes research collaborations with local universities in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Tapachula, Ciudad Juárez, and Tijuana. These partnerships facilitate conferences and seminars aimed at sharing research findings and developing solutions to challenges faced by migrant populations.
This initiative underscores the vital role of collaboration among academic institutions, government agencies, and international organizations in tackling major social issues. Through UNAM at Mexico’s Borders, the university promotes migrant integration and development and also establishes itself as a leader in human rights advocacy, striving for a more inclusive and equitable future for vulnerable communities.
