With the purpose of strengthening the relationship between the university and the community of Valparaíso, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso officially inaugurated the PUCV Social Community Center, an initiative that seeks to respond to the real social needs through free services, workshops and projects with territorial impact.
The new center is born under the care of the PUCV 2023-2029 Strategic Development Plan, that promotes community relations that are meaningful, bi-directional and participative.
The rector of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Nelson Vásquez, stated that “it is a joy for us to inaugurate this community action center, whose purpose is to support the society of Valparaíso and the community in general, which requires of our capabilities and institutional commitment”.
Along the same line, Camila Nieto, mayor of Valparaíso, added that “this is a space that will be open to the community, not only with offices available to community organizations, but also to any neighbor in order to attend to their specific needs”.
Among the services offered at the PUCV Social Community Center are legal advice, psychological care, health orientation, social, accounting and educational supports, all of them articulated with various academic departments of the University.
Jacqueline Páez, Vicerector of Community Relations at the PUCV, added that “this initiative was born from the commitment of our university to develop an open space that would provide services, where our advanced human capital, led by our faculty and students, could develop, from their disciplines, a free support program for the community of Valparaíso and other areas of the region”.
The Community of Valparaíso
Without a doubt those that will be greatly benefitted by this PUCV Center are our neighbors of the city of Valparaíso. Father Víctor Godoy, parish priest of the La Matriz Church, valued the initiative that will directly benefit those in need in our city and region: “I spend time with people from my community where we can clearly see specific needs and this is why this center is so relevant, since it can provide quality care for the inhabitants of the area and the city of Valparaiso”.
For his part, Iván Díaz, Projects Director at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, emphasized that “this center has its origin in a call from the Ministry of Education. This is a grant that supports initiatives so that institutions connect their knowledge with the needs of the regions. This project in particular was created from the strategic guidelines of the university and priorities at the local level for collaborative work and to respond to specific requirements. Among the most urgent are those that are related to the older population, people with disabilities and migrant population”.
By Sebastián Paredes
Strategic Communications Department
