Prof. Dr. Fernando Sarango Macas

Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas “Amawtay Wasi”
Intercultural Research

External Senior Fellow
June 2014 – July 2014

E-Mail: rector@amawtaywasi.edu.ec

Last Update: 31.08.2014

Curriculum Vitae

Luis Fernando Sarango Macas is an Ecuadorian indigenous and belongs to the nationality of Kichwa Saraguro. He obtained his BA in Social Sciences from the National University of Loja (Ecuador). He has a BA in Education Sciences (field of specialization: Andean Linguistics and Bilingual Education) from the University of Cuenca (Ecuador) and a MA in University Teaching from the University URACCAN in Nicaragua. He received his PhD in Law from the National University of Loja. In March 2005 he took office as rector of the Intercultural University of Indigenous Nations and People “Amawtay Wasi” (quichua: “House of Wisdom”). The Intercultural University of Indigenous Nations and Peoples “Amawtay Wasi” was founded in 2004 and was supported, amongst others, by the UNESCO and the GIZ. The headquaters are located in Quito (Ecuador), another four campuses are situated all around the country.

Fernando Sarango has held several keynote speeches at the Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAEI) and at other international conferences on interculturality and indigenous epistemology (e. g. II International Congress of Indigenous and Communitarian Universities of Abya Yala 2011, Cochabamba/Bolivia; Keen State College 2011, New Hampshire/USA; University of Panamá 2013, Panamá).

Furthermore, he is a coordinator of the Indigenous Intercultural University Network (REDUII) and legal advisor of different indigenous organizations in Ecuador.

Selected Publications

Coauthor: ¿Qué está pasando con los derechos de los pueblos indígenas? Estudio Regional: Buenas prácticas, obstáculos y desafíos en la implementación de las recomendaciones del Relator Especial de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos y las Libertades F undamentales de los Indígenas, del Comité de los Derechos del Niño y del Comité para la Eliminación de la Discriminación contra la Mujer, en Ecuador, Bolivia y Perú. UNIFEM-UNICEF-OACNUDH. CADPI, Managua 2008.
Ecuador – La experiencia de la Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas “Amawtay Wasi”. In: Mato, Daniel (ed.): Diversidad cultural e interculturalidad en educación superior. Experiencias en América Latina. Instituto Internacional de la UNESCO para la Educación Superior en América Latina y el Caribe (IESALC), Caracas 2008.
Los pueblos indígenas frente a la comunidad y la cooperación internacional. Módulo No. 6. Maestría Gestión del Desarrollo con Identidad para el Buen Vivir Comuniatario. [For: Universidad Indígena Intercultural UII; Universidad de las Regiones Autónomas de la Costa Caribe Nicaragüense URACCAN; Universidad Autónoma Indígena e Intercultural Colombia UAIIN; Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas “Amawtay Wasi”]. UINPI AW Ecuador, Quito 2009.
Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas “Amawtay Wasi”, Ecuador/Chinchaysuyu. In: Mato, Daniel (ed.): Instituciones interculturales de educación superior en América Latina. Procesos de construcción, logros, innovaciones y desafíos. Instituto Internacional de la UNESCO para la Educación Superior en América Latina y el Caribe (IESALC), Caracas 2009.
La experiencia de la Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas “Amawtay Wasi”. Hacia un nuevo paradigma de educación superior. In: Dance, Iván; Vásquez Valdés, Verónica (eds.): Aulas Diversas. Experiencias sobre educación intercultural en América. Ediciones Abya Yala, Quito 2012.

FRIAS Project

“Knowledge and Universities in an Intercultural Context” – Academic Concepts in the Andes and in Breisgau.

The project assumes that the production and transmission of knowledge are embedded in a cultural context and in particular academic cultures. Culturally different concepts on the human being, its environment and the universe do influence our perception of reality and the methods to get to know it.

The project “Knowledge and Universities in an Intercultural Context – Academic Concepts in the Andes and Breisgau” seeks to figure out the cultural differences and commonalities between the academic and epistemological landscape of a German and an indigenous university.

On the basis of selected crucial terms in both academic cultures (e. g. “campus”, “lecturer”, “criteria of academic quality”), the cultural contextualization of science, of the production and transmission of knowledges shall be specified.

The interchange and the cooperation with scientists and students of the University of Freiburg makes it also possible to get to know the potential of an intercultural science and education which seeks to traduce cultural differences of varied epistemological traditions.

The purpose of the stay at FRIAS serves to prepare a long-term research project on this theme between the Intercultural University Amawtay Wasi and the University of Freiburg.

The scientific partners of the project in Freiburg are JunProf. Dr. Anna Meiser (Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology) and Prof. Dr. Stefan Pfänder (Romance Linguistics Seminar).