Outreach

These initiatives seek to make an impact in the public arena by opening and enriching the debate from a critical standpoin that fosters dialogue among the population, delivering theoretical tools, and above all, spreading practical viewpoints that allow for the exploration of academic contributions towards problem solving. We strive to be open to culture and the arts on an unrestricted and permanent basis, making it available to all, plus foster community participation and the building of networks between people with similar interests on a communal, national, and international level.

In line with the open character of the University, we organize outreach activities in many different formats, on many different subjects, fields of knowledge and the arts, geared towards a wide spectrum of audiences.

These initiatives take place with the backing of different academic institutions, social and cultural organizations with whom we have created alliances.

Connecting with the Community
These are activities that take place in the communal territory of Recoleta, looking to creating long term networks between the UAR and the different communities that reside in Recoleta. We seek to be a bridge uniting academia, students and communities, provide the community with tools to resolve problems and collaborate, to push creative, artistic, academic, cultural and patrimonial activities.

Political-Academic Activities
These activities are organized from a critical and democratic perspective, based on community dialogue. We produce all types of events along the lines of subjects prioritized by the UAR and others related to the political, social and cultural contingency in Recoleta, Chile and worldwide.

Cultural Creativity and Communication
The UAR opens its doors to creativity and the production of different types of activities in the arts and culture, that enrich the diversity of what’s available on a territorial and national scale, democratizing its reach, and bolstering the processes of artistic creation in different communities.

In the year 2020 we organized different initiatives:

Community Strengthening Cooperation and Alliances
More than forty students, together with a team of academics from the School of Odontology at the Universidad de Chile, offered a telephone orientation service on oral health to the elderly in Recoleta. Together with the Municipal Senior Citizens Program, this pilot program visited seniors’ clubs in different neighborhoods in Recoleta, reaching almost 350 people.

Staff from the Municipality’s Senior Citizens Program were also trained in oral health and hygiene, making it an integral part of the services they provide, as well as donating supplies to seniors. The project included the donation of 400 toothbrushes and food supplies to the Quinta Bellavista communal soup kitchen.

University Remembrance
To mark and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Unidad Popular, the University of Santiago’s Public and Social World Outreach Unit and its Patrimonial Archive, together with the UAR, united to highlight the role universities play in the country’s social processes. In this particular instance, the project sought to retrieve the contributions made by the intellectuals, creators, artists and workers that 50 years ago gave their lives to this unique popular movement on a global scale. To share what was called University Remembrance: 50 years on from the Unidad Popular, showcased from September 4th to November 4th, 2020, seminars, documentaries, and interviews were offered publicly, so newer generations could learn about this fundamental part of Chile’s history and imagine a new future.

Radioleta
Radioleta was thought up to foster the circulation of content and experiences on key current issues such as feminism, the new constitution, and rights. The UAR, with the backing of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, developed a multi/trans media platform of educational, social and political content. This platform seeks to contribute to the articulation of social movements in moments of crises and the growth of critical agendas.

Public Debates
During the year 2020, the Outreach Department, with the participation of social and community leaders, public figures, academics and highly qualified national and international professionals and experts, produced 18 live streamed forums and talks that made a mark in terms of audience, relevance, and contributing to public debate. They remain current and continue to reach tens of thousands of people in Chile and abroad, spurring debate and dialogue about key issues such as sustainable development, the environment, education, the pandemic, gender, discrimination, racism, remembrance, art and literature, among others.