70th Anniversary of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, with everyone and for everyone’s benefit

The history of the UPN draws from a variety of political and pedagogical traditions. These come together in who we are.    

The birth of the University is a result of a process that began in 1927 with the German pedagogical missions that crystallized their approach with the creation of the Instituto Pedagógico Nacional; later, the French pedagogical tradition that led to the creation of the Escuela Normal Superior in 1936. This confluence of experiences also gathered elements of American education and pedagogy, which spread after the Second World War, and, of course, Latin American popular education, with decisive developments in recent decades. This long history, together with a comprehensive approach to teaching, has made our university the one with the longest tradition of teaching and research in our country.   

The UPN has also been a victim of armed conflict, with the loss of students, alumni, workers and teachers. And we have been persecuted for making different educational proposals, for imagining contextualized curricula, and for carrying out pedagogical exercises in favor of a country in Democracy, Peace, and Social Justice.  

It is also worthwhile to recognize the components of social and educational mobilization, which has meant the analysis of institutional practices in the processes of student organization, the recognition of the struggle for the defense of public education and the empowerment of individuals of knowledge who, from their pedagogical achievements, arrange political and academic resistance environments that, in turn, result in ways and dynamics of political mobilization.  

The epistemic dialogues between the missionary axes of teaching, research and social projection of the university have led us to think about renewed horizons of public education in our contemporary context, shaped by a superficial crisis of neoliberalism and the emergence of new authoritarianisms. Hence the relevance of working from a pedagogy of affection that allows the creation and strengthening of the social bond necessary for the political foundation of new generations of teachers.

Despite the hegemonic theoretical vanguards and systemic imperatives, there is something that characterizes UPN: Our faculty, students, alumni, and staff continue to dream, build, and work for other possible worlds. Recognizing, of course, that education is not the only tool for transformation, and that it is also targeted by structural problems, they use it to teach, research, and design policies that contribute to deepening democracy from an ethic of care, affection, and recognition of the other.    

In these 70 years we have claimed the slogan: “Public we received it, Public we deliver it” and our commitment, in addition to its defense, is its continuous strengthening to guarantee its future. I would like to take this opportunity to send a special greeting to all those who have been part of the University, to their families and to all those who have worked and continue to work for it in different areas.

For this reason, I invite each and every member of our University community to reflect on and recount their educational experiences from their own individual and collective paths; to recognize in these memories the potential that has been built. I invite you, on this 70^th Anniversary, to rebuild our political subjectivities, to strengthen ourselves, to make university life out of solidarity and academic, political, ethical and aesthetic work. I invite you to face the future with what we are, what we have, and what we can build: A University in the words by José Martí: “With everyone and for everyone’s benefit.”  

#UPN70Years
In addition to the 70^th Anniversary of the University, we also celebrate the 100^th birthday of the master Orlando Fals Borda, which means that our cultural and academic programming will be more festive and reflective than ever.