acto cívico

This morning the College held its first acto cívico--an event, it was recently decided, that will occur every Tuesday morning during a mid-morning break from classes.  

A representative from the Education Department (chosen because she has the highest grade) raised the Bolivian flag while her classmates sang the national anthem.

Acto cívicos, which could perhaps be best described as an official flag raising ceremony with a pep talk, are most commonly found at Bolivia high schools where students often begin the day by lining up to sing the national anthem, raise the Bolivian flag, and listen to a teacher or school director talk about morals and values.  It's kind of a "I'm proud to be a Bolivian" kind of moment.

Students listen to Andres Pardo, Director of the College's Education Department, speak at this morning's acto cívico on Campus Leahy.

UAC-CP administrators recently decided that it would be a good idea to begin holding weekly actos cívicos here at the College--primarily to give students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to reflect on the College's founding mission (which I've abbreviated for space):

• To make higher education available to poor, young people from the rural area;
  
• To prepare men and women with quality, professional training;
  
• To be in constant search for truth and goodness by means of learning, research, and community extension;
  
• To develop extension programs through specific projects that meet the needs of rural communities;
  
• To integrate the work of the College community into the countryside and develop and strengthen process and socio-economic liberation through academic, research, and extension activities.

So, it's a little bit of time set aside every Tuesday morning for a "I'm proud to be at the UAC-CP" kind of moment.  It's a time for all of us who are committed to fulfilling the mission of the College, to be reminded of our common vision--to, basically, improve the lives of Bolivians through education.