HAVANA.— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, a member of the PCC Political Bureau and First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, emphasized the need for university students to question current cultural patterns.
Invited to participate in the Third FEU (Federation of University Students) National Congress, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez highlighted the importance of creating recreational spaces that provide valuable content and encourage the cultural, ethical and humanistic enrichment of the youth.
Similarly, he called on participants to reflect on, and identify, the role of Cuban university students in a global context marked by the increase of banal cultural expressions and the promotion of unnecessary consumption.
During the event students also discussed their important role in changing these negative modes of consumption, as well as the search for recreational alternatives for university students.
Antonio Darias, President of the FEU at the University of the Arts, highlighted the need to defend Cuban identity from within student institutions, which at the same time, act as cultural centers in every region.
In addition, he warned of the cultural divides among the new generations, which alienate them from reality and generate negative values.
Alberto Periche, representing the University of Holguín, proposed to rethink ways of using leisure time, although without imposing recreational patterns on students or forcing them to consume determined artistic manifestations.
Abel Prieto, advisor to the President of the Council of State and Ministers, also invited to attend, proposed to create a climate of collective debate, bearing in mind that recreational spaces are decisive to the formation of values.
It is not about banning, but about analyzing the cultural options that we are exposed to and taking a critical stance with respect to these.
Also participating in the event were Yuniasky Crespo, first secretary of the Union of Young Communists and member of the Party Central Committee; Julián González, minister of Culture, and José Ramón Saborido, first deputy minister of Education. (AIN)
