1. Introduction
2. Problems and Opportunities:
3. Goal:
4. Objectives:
5. Organizational Scheme:
6. Design and Implementation of Courses and Programs:
7. Degree Validation:
8. Infrastructure and Equipment:
9. Proposed Activities:
10. Anticipated Outcome:
11. Benefits:

1. Introduction

Central America has changed. In the brief span of time elapsed since the first Esquipulas agreements, the Central Americans have achieved an almost stop to the political violence that afflicted several countries of the region; democracies have been established and renovated; human rights respect have reached new heights and a new regional integration system has been defined.

This declaration emitted at the XV Ordinary Meeting of Central American Presidents projects the effort to change the Central American isthmus, within each of the constituent countries, and at regional level by means of the Central American Integration System acting as legal-political frame and that is complemented, since 1994, by an integral strategy for sustainable development in Central America, which marks a change in the schemes of our individual and collective attitudes, as well as of the policies and actions towards sustainability of the political, economical, social, cultural and environmental aspects of our societies.

Such initiative known as Central American Alliance for a Sustainable Development is a national and regional strategy, whereby we assume the responsibility for a better and more efficient use of the resources in our region.

Such resources, specially the human ones, are essential to reach the sustainable development goal of bettering and guaranteeing the quality of human life, a goal that requires important investments in human resources, access to education and forming of the technical and professional participation that contributes to an equitable economical growth which in turn leads to a successful war against poverty.

With this perspective in mind, we have given a high priority to basic education, formation and qualification with the conviction that "the development of human resources is simultaneously a basic condition to increase productivity as well as a vehicle for a fairer society."

However the latest natural disasters, mainly Mitch, has made an impact on Nicaragua, and Honduras, that have set them back in time. Human and financial resources, initially meant to develop industry and agriculture have now to be used in fixing up infrastructure damage. European countries have lend their efforts to help achieve such a goal, conditioned to make a definitive impact in some areas, by developing them in a order manner. City lay out, school and clinic locations will now be done in a planned way.

Countries like Costa Rica, which suffered much less, and which has shown a high educational level may now be a source for continuous educational programs broadcast to rural areas in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Common language, and similarity of problems in the region will make it easier to do so.
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2. Problems and Opportunities:

The Central American region, because of historical and political reasons, is composed of quite different countries, some more advance than others. This disparity is becoming a source of friction, causing a heavy rate of labor force to move from one area to another, overloading in some cases the labor, educational, and medical infrastructure.

Due to all this, the Global University for Central America seeks to address several of this points, and try to diminish their negative impact on society.

Countries like Honduras and Nicaragua, both heavily hit by Hurricane Mitch may profit by having access to educational resources now available at Costa Rica and Guatemala, which can be put at their disposition by means of satellite interaction. By increasing educational level in some of this rural populations, standard of living may increase as diminishing the pressure to migrate.

Making available to this populations new ways for medical diagnostics, be it better trained physicians or else hard to get equipment, jointly with dissemination of hygiene practices that can be easily be put to practice, may lower significantly the impact of diseases some of which may long be eradicated in other countries.

This way of action will not only avoid the spreading of such diseases, but reduce the economical burden the recipient country has to face to vaccinate, and cure the illegal immigrants.

Such joint actions eventually will change the perception that some populations have with respect to others, lowering tensions, and paving the way to a better understanding among them.
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3. Goal:

The goals of the Global University for Central America (GUCA) are;

1. To test some of the latest technologies available in order to provide affordable education to all of the population in the area.

   Such a university will provide nontraditional curricula and courses of interdisciplinary character, using the technical and scientific base installed in the area.

2. Set up the basis for the incoming INTERNET-2 systems, to be used both for educational (Distant Education) and medical (Telemedicine) purposes.

   It is hoped that this effort will complement other efforts carried out in programs targeted to diminish illiteracy, women education, health, and agriculture.

3. Establish a partnership with the universities now forming the CSUCA (Consejo Superior de Universidades de Centro America) system, a consortium of all the public backed universities in the region.

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4. Objectives:

The Global University for Central America (GICA) is thought as a confederation of Central American universities and regional institutions, which will jointly develop university level, and adult education programs aimed at offering members of different communities in the region courses which will improve carriers offered by local universities, by using qualified human resources in the area. It will also seek to help improve medical care by improving nurse training, and eventually transmit actual medical data.

GUCA has these four main objectives:

• Provide and offer non-traditional curricula and courses of interdisciplinary and multi disciplinary character which will make use of the technologic and scientific base installed in the region with the goal to contribute to the analysis and solution of specific problems found in the road of reaching a sustainable development in Central America, such as governable, disaster prevention, nourishment safety, linkage to the international economy, and so forth. This effort will complement the formation carried out by the Central American universities and regional research institutions.
  
  
• Provide an opportunity to those who cannot study abroad to engage in technical careers of high demand in the area due to the integration and sustainable development, in a joint effort with North American and European universities which offer curricula and courses via satellite.
  
  
• Complement other efforts carried out in programs targeted to diminish illiteracy, women education, languages, health, agriculture, etc.
  
  
• Offer curricula and courses on subjects where Central America's comparative advantages, to other parts of the world.

It is expected that this approach will help turn down some of the ill perceptions that people of one country has of the other, basically that some groups are nourishing from the efforts of the others, without receiving anything back.

Eventually GUCA programs may reach academic status by means of the regional universities turning itself in a tool to promote free professional mobility in the region, contributing to the integration process.

In addition to satellite technology, whenever it sees fit, regular class schemes, as well as regular mail, courier, E-Mail, conferences, video conferences, etc. will be used. The final choice will depend on how affordable the education will be for the given population.
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5. Organizational Scheme:

The GUCA will be made up of:

An Advisory Committee (Board of Trustees): constituted by well-known people, in and out of the region, related to the use of distributed information. It will be made up of nine members, representing the public, academic, and private sectors. Those from the academic sector will be chosen from the universities which has excelled in the region. Those from the private, and public sector will be chosen among academic personnel who have had strong contact with those sectors, in order to guarantee that the needs of those two sectors will be well represented.

Board of Directors: Will be made up by representatives of those universities. They will be in charge of setting up the policies. They will also determine the priorities of each of the programs to be carried out according to the financial resources available, and their possible impact on society. Will also act as a bridge between the General Coordinator and the institutions represented. General Coordinator: Will be proposed to the Board of Directors. Will be in charge of seeking financial support for the proposed projects, set guidelines the distribution of available funds, check that GUCA does its job. Will have the faculty to contract, under the private licensee scheme, those works that are occasionally needed, such as the installation of new equipment. He will be helped by a small administrative staff, who will take care of information, statistics, as well as public information.

Academic Committee: Will establish the guidelines to select, analyze, recommend, and eventually approve the academic programs proposed to them by the specialized institutions, and seek that the accepted goals become a reality. With the idea of fulfilling the four goals declared above in the Objectives section, it is here proposed that small specialized Academic Councils be set up. It will be made up by representatives of the regional institutions that has explicitly established goals in agreement with those of GUCA. The second, due to its nature, will be made up exclusively by representatives of universities who will approved on the objectives of this project. The third one will be established with representatives of other regional institutions, without excluding other non-government organizations willing to help GUCA. Being this last objective quite a wide one, in a later stage of this project a guideline on how such representatives be chosen should be written in order to rule the participation of those groups which, share its goals of providing affordable and accessible education to everyone.
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6. Design and Implementation of Courses and Programs:

GUCA will identify among the regional universities, regional institutions, and out of the region specialized universities, those courses and programs which will create the critical mass needed for the integral solution of some of the most pressing problems of the Central American region. GUCA will built up the technical capability to promote the course diffusion and the ample discussion of those themes and problems.

The regional institutions will lead, within the frame of their expertise, the different programs and courses, seeking whenever necessary complementary support from the rest of the regional as well as extra-regional research and higher education institutions.

Courses and programs offered by out of the area institutions which can be adopted to the needs of the region, such as those prepared for the Amazonian region, as well as those solutions to reach out to people developed anywhere in the world that could be adapted to the region will also be considered. Vice-versa GUCA may also offer Central American courses and programs to the rest of the world.

Programs to be developed.

In view of the above, and conscious that the application of this new technology requires time for the producers and users to adapt to it, it is proposed that the Project be initiated with the implementation of three or four projects actually in the going, to which a satellite component will be added. The choosing of these projects has to be done considering that the institutions in charge has shown a high degree of commitment with this project, and have shown in the past to be capable of developing successful projects. It has also being considered that they have already found some financial backing, a point that will help increase the chances of getting the extra push to add the satellite component.

Such projects may be:

1. With the financial help of the Kellogg Foundation, INCAP is now carrying out a Central American project with primary school teachers to cover themes related to nutritional safety in the general public. It is expected that educational videos resulting from this project can be broadcasted in commercial TV stations, widening the covered area. The application of a satellite component to this project will help INCAP evaluate the pros and cons of using such a means for its Master's Program.
   
   
2. Programs to educate common people on the basic hygienic practices, to prevent spreading of common diseases in the area will also be targeted.
   
   
3. Programs that will lead to improve labor conditions in the area, either by teaching safety measurements that will avoid fatal effects such as those caused by miss-used of fertilizers and pesticides, or by teaching people with low level education several techniques to improve their income, and raise their standard of living.

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7. Degree Validation:

Those programs that will enable the student to take courses from different geographically distributed institutions, inter-disciplinary programs, very likely inter-country, requires to foresee a mechanism by means of which both the courses as well as the program as a whole have to be validated, via the degree validation. A regional system such as CSUCA has lately embarked in designing a Central American Evaluation and Validation System, which could be a good instance to solve such a need.
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8. Infrastructure and Equipment:

Satellite: Given the fact that TELSTAR 401 footprint does not reach Central America, some other satellite has to be considered. SOLIDARIDAD satellite has been used by other groups to broadcast compressed video, which turns it into a good candidate. INTELSAT 325, or PanAmSat 1 may also be considered.

The final selection should be done after very carefully considering aspects such as:

1. Broadcast costs, per hour, per month,
   
2. Broadcast power of footprint, in order to chose the right antenna, and its cost,
   
3. Existence of international cooperation treaties that may lower the costs,
   
4. Versatility of broadcast schedule available per cost,
   
5. Possible uses that the satellite will be put to, and needs of the different projects.

It can not be forgotten that due to lack of experience, it may be advisable to initially sign an agreement for a given number of hours, before considering a dedicated channel, considering that technology changes so fast that obsolescence is a factor to be considered.

The emphasis on satellite technology given to in this project, that due to cost considerations is a one-to-many emission, does not imply that we are leaving out other technologies that may help turn into interactive the relation between producers and users. The use of now traditional elements such as regular mail (paper, or cassettes recorded by the users), telephone, FAX, as well as Multimedia and INTERNET will be promoted wherever possible.

Satellite was chosen because it has proven to be a good mean to reach large number of people in a relatively short time. However the needs in the area are many and very diverse, so while systems such as INTERNET 2 could be implemented, other communication methods have also to be considered. Among those, installation of Internet Cottages in different communities to promote exchange of opinions amongst their different populations, to develop democratic thinking, as well as the use of wireless units to reach out distant rural areas may also be considered.

The choice will be made taking into account the financial as well as human resources available every moment.
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9. Proposed Activities:

1. With the possible collaboration of foundations such as Kellogg, primary school teachers will be reached to set up a program to teach hygiene as well as nutritional practices to improve their living standards. This action is the top of the list now since the area is being hit by hurricanes.
   
   
2. Regional health posts will be reached via satellite using small aperture antennas to upgraded the academic preparation of nurses and auxiliary people in the field, as well as of the local population.
   
   
3. With the coming of INTERNET-2, remote medical diagnostics will be included as one of the services provided by GUCA.

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10. Anticipated Outcome:

It is expected that the following segments of the Central American population will profit from the activities proposed above:

1. Universities, on account of upgrading of professors' knowledge, and putting students in touch with latest technologies.

   Establishment of two-way interactions between several local medical posts and regular hospitals will be taken place with;

   • Access to medical data bases,
     
   • Medical training,
     
   • Remote diagnostics,
     
   • Emergency support, like in situations created by hurricanes
     
   • Prevention care.
     
     
2. Scientists and engineers will also profit from partnerships developed by Internet access, as well as by tailor made courses provided by local experts.
   
   
3. Medicine level in the area will be increased by making available to the medical personnel with the latest techniques for diagnostics.
   

   Development of conditions leading to INTERNET-2 systems that will make practices such as telemedicine feasible and affordable to large segments of the population.
   

4. Hospitals and local medical posts, for nurses and doctors will not only have access to better diagnostic techniques, but because nurse training will be improved.
   

   Local medical personnel will improve their knowledge via interactive courses, delivered by highly specialized doctors and nurses.

5. Adoption of telemedicine practices at hospitals will improve the services they provide to the surrounding populations.
   
   
6. It is believed that the population can considerably reduced the needs of curative medicine, by learning simple health practices. Prevention is cheaper than cure.
   
   
7. It is also expected that, by improving local conditions, pressure to emigrate from rural areas to cities, as well as from one country to another will be diminished.
   

   Establishment of electronic cottages in several communities, so as to start democratizing Internet access. GUCA will then act as a resonance box which can make personal efforts reach a much bigger population, making the more efficient and have a higher impact with the same input.

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11. Benefits:

Internet has proved to be a method by which the user may be in touch with very high quality material, at a very low cost. Material developed for small audiences can, with low cost changes, be distributed to much bigger audiences multiplying its effectiveness n-fold. Programs now available make it possible for any individual to prepare web-base pages that can be of benefit to a much broader population.

Broadband Internet will enable local universities to develop course content more in line with local demands, by making the appropriate changes to the raw material. Economic costs to do so will be much lower than what it would cost to set up tailor made committees to tackle every one of such demands, with the actual risks of repeating a good part of the job done by others.

This activity is a community development approach, firstly with nonprofit organizations and secondly with for-profit organizations. This activity is to be a model replicable to other localities and regions, as leading the use of advanced Internet in various sectors of society. The higher educational institution selected in the locality will have the broadband Internet satellite earth-station, and will become the major Internet Service Provider (ISP) to the local community of nonprofit organizations. The higher education institution will then provide teacher training to secondary and elementary schools.
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