About 80 people will take the diploma, with face-to-face meetings at Aluminé-Ruca Choroi and virtual classes.
With the presence of Governor Rolando Figueroa, the rector of the National University of Comahue (UNCo), Beatriz Gentile, and representatives of the Mapuche community, the first diploma in Intercultural Medicine Dialogue of Knowledge in Health with the Mapuche People began.
This is a training proposal from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Comahue and the Ministry of Health of the Province of Neuquén. The ceremony was held at the Lof Puel Pvjv (Spirit of the East), located on the plateau of the capital of Neuquén, and the province’s Minister of Health and vice dean on leave, Martín Regueiro, among other officials, were present.
After thanking the land, those present circled around the rewe
(pure place), a point of connection with the sacred, a medicinal, spiritual and
ceremonial. There, representatives of the Mapuche community gave the words of
welcome and invited the governor and the authorities present to tour the
facilities where a Mapuche medicine health center will operate.
When referring to the formation and development of the contents, Regueiro stated that “it is a diploma that has a different logic and is intercultural from its origin,” and explained: “it is not only transferring, it is not only giving the content so that the someone else does what I do, but by respecting each other, understanding the spaces, achieving learning for everyone.”
“The university has to play a role, I think we have to train our students with an intercultural perspective and I think it is born in the territory. Health is born in territory and we make the territory from here and in this matter of talking to each other and listening to each other,” he indicated.
Beatriz Gentile, for her part, thanked us for the welcome in the territory and stated: “we are more than happy, excited and happy. Today, here, there are the forces of the land, the Government, the University, we are in community and in territory. Less than a month ago the University Assembly declared this definition of the University of Comahue as an intercultural university. We are opening the way. The possibility of this diploma opens the door for the career of Medicine to begin to have another perspective, another training of professionals.”
In turn, the lonco of the Lof Puel Pvjv community, Pety Piciñam, stated that “beginning a diploma in this context, accompanied by the rector of a projected university, which was declared intercultural, accompanied by a minister who despite that for more than 20 years we have not had access to Mapuche health. We are very grateful to Martín and his work team. We find it extremely important to begin this process of strengthening all the spaces where Mapuche medicine is developed. “We have a lot to contribute and a lot to say about health.”
At the event, representatives of the Mapuche community gave the words of welcome and invited the governor and the authorities present to tour the facilities where a Mapuche medicine health center will operate.
Finally, the protocol opening took place after noon in the UNCo-Headquarters Blue Room, where Damián Cancelo and Stefanía Rivera, from the Extension secretariat, were also present. It should be noted that on March 12, the UNCo University Assembly approved the intercultural perspective, thus becoming the first house of higher education in the country to incorporate it.
Dialogue of Knowledge in Health with the Mapuche People
The diploma will be taught from May to December with a hybrid modality, with face-to-face meetings at Aluminé-Ruca Choroi (Neuquén) and virtual classes, through the PEDCO platform (synchronous or asynchronous mode). It consists of nine modules, with a total workload of 144 hours, with presentation of final group work and delivery of certifications.
The topics that will be addressed are interculturality and health in the ethical framework of public health; health as an intercultural construction; health-disease-care processes; State and indigenous peoples in Argentina; systemic violence in health; biomedicine; primary health care in intercultural contexts; mapuche medicine; indigenous worldview and health; and dialogue of knowledge and exchange of intercultural experiences in health.
The teaching team is made up of leaders of traditional Mapuche medicine and biomedicine leaders. In addition, speakers from the university environment and representatives of the Mapuche people linked to the topic will participate to address different topics.
