The Amazonian University Program (PUAM) held its 2026 Assembly on June 1, a space for gathering, listening, and discernment that brought together representatives from ecclesial organizations, academic institutions, partner networks, local stakeholders, and collaborators who support the development of this educational initiative in service to the Pan-Amazon region.
The event featured the participation of Marcelo Lemos, Executive Secretary of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), who joined this important moment of evaluation, planning, and strengthening of an initiative that seeks to respond to the challenges of the Amazon region from an intercultural and territorial perspective, committed to the care of our Common Home. Also participating were representatives of the Ecclesial Network for Intercultural Bilingual Education in the Amazon (REIBA): Sister Lisette Escárate, Volunteer Coordinator; Sister Martha Ardila, coordinator of REIBA Colombia; and Ana Gabriela Jiménez, coordinator of Intercultural Bilingual Education and Communication, who reaffirmed the network’s commitment to the formative, community, and educational processes promoted by PUAM in the Amazonian territories.
More than an exercise in accountability, the Assembly served as a space for collective building where diverse voices converged to acknowledge the progress made, identify emerging challenges, and plan the next steps on the path that PUAM has been developing.
During the meeting, the main achievements of the past year were presented, in line with the 2025 Management Report. Participants learned about progress in the program’s institutional consolidation, the development of the educational proposal, research and advocacy processes, as well as initiatives for territorial coordination and network strengthening that form part of the educational ecosystem PUAM has been building in the region.
One of the most significant moments was the presentation of progress on the Integrated Management of the Amazonian Territory (GINTA) degree program, conceived as an innovative educational initiative designed to address the realities and needs of Amazonian territories. This initiative is committed to a contextualized, intercultural higher education linked to processes of defending life, peoples, and territories.
Likewise, progress driven by the Research and Advocacy area was shared; its purpose is to generate situated knowledge, strengthen local capacities, and contribute to transforming the realities affecting Amazonian peoples. Within this framework, initiatives such as FRATELIS-Amazonia and the Cardinal Claudio Hummes Chair were highlighted—spaces that promote the dialogue of knowledge, critical reflection, and the collective construction of alternatives for the region.
The Assembly also provided an opportunity to hear the experiences and contributions of representatives from different territories and institutions supporting the PUAM process. The speakers agreed on the importance of continuing to strengthen an educational proposal that does not merely aim to bring education to the Amazon, but to build higher education with the Amazon, recognizing the richness of its cultures, knowledge, challenges, and hopes.
During the closing of the meeting, progress was presented regarding strategic and transformative communication, as well as the main priorities for the coming period. Among these are the consolidation of the territorial and intercultural educational model, the strengthening of network coordination, the deepening of research and advocacy processes, and the development of an institutional framework capable of responding to the complexity and diversity of the Pan-Amazon region.
The 2026 Assembly reaffirmed that the PUAM remains a collective endeavor in constant growth, where communities, peoples, organizations, institutions, and individuals join forces to envision and make possible new forms of higher education in the service of life, socio-environmental justice, and the care of our Common Home.