In total, there were 20 organizations that sought to promote the active participation of the community, through interventions in the Plaza de Armas of Coquimbo.

Promote the active participation of the community, generating an ecosystem of debate and collaborative learning in action to solve real challenges of the commune of Coquimbo and promote at the regional level the start of the university volunteer organization EKUN of the University of La Serena, were the main objectives of the meeting “Citizens in action: Empowered Community with Social and Environmental Consciousness”, an activity organized by the university and the municipality of Coquimbo.

There were 20 organizations that took part in this activity open to the community of the Buenos Aires commune, where people learned about the work carried out by each of these organizations.

The academic of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Coordinator of Liaison with the Environment of the FIULS, Ricardo Cabana, pointed out that “in this meeting of citizens in action, we seek that our students from the Faculty of Engineering and the citizens of the commune of Coquimbo, raise environmental problems and our students give us solutions incorporating environmental and social challenges, and that the mayor can receive them.”

Regarding the invitation made by the ULS to be part of this initiative, Juan Catalán, supporter of INJUV's social programs and initiatives, indicated that "it seems very good to us, since as INJUV we have the mission of addressing everything that is voluntary and bring public services closer to the people, we are very grateful for the invitation that the University of La Serena gave us to bring young people closer to our institution and we hope that they continue carrying out activities of this type.”

In addition, 6 work tables were established open to the participation of attendees where different debates were carried out on 4 to 6 environmental and social challenges relevant to the commune of Coquimbo, with the purpose of carrying out a focused diagnosis of the topics discussed. , creating initiatives that will contribute to solving these challenges.

The beginning of a new volunteering

During this activity, the volunteer work of the University of La Serena “Ekun” began, which sought to present itself to the community, disseminating the work that the students of the study house seeking to carry out. they compose.

Ekun (which in Mapudungun means respect) is a university volunteer organization created by students of the Industrial Civil Engineering program at the ULS and which today is made up of 20 students from the Faculty of Engineering, which seeks to promote and contribute to the training of environmental and social awareness in the students of the university and in the community of the Coquimbo Region, through commitment, active participation and leadership of university students, individuals and organizations related to sustainable and sustainable development.  

For the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Mauricio Godoy, it is important to be able to generate these instances that bring the University closer to the community. “It is important that the University rebuilds its social role through initiatives such as volunteering. That is why we are concerned about the projection that our 'Ekun' volunteer service could have, to be able to make it grow and ensure that it is established as a group of the entire University of La Serena, it is very important for our Faculty that this is generated from our careers" , he explained.

Regarding the creation of this volunteering, Esteban Hurtado, student of Industrial Civil Engineering and general director of Ekun, said that “this is an excellent initiative and a very good opportunity, it was born in the Department of Industrial Civil Engineering, through the students , to promote social and environmental awareness. “This is an innovative experience for the University and the community.”

The work of “Ekun” joins the work of other volunteers at the university such as the “Voluntariado Sowing Hopes” (VOSES), which will seek to expand their scope of action, including students from other careers at the university.

Written Tomás Rodríguez, DirCom