The Profile

“Education itself is the most extraordinary tool that will remain powerful from generation to generation.” Dr Rigoberta Menchú Tum.

Speaking at the QS Higher Education Summit: Americas 2024 in Mexico City, human rights activist and Nobel Peace prize winner, Dr Menchú Tum, shared her wisdom and experiences as an indigenous person, activist and educator to guide the global higher education sector towards a future of reciprocity, trust and togetherness.

Rooted in Indigenous perspectives is the idea that the world we know has been born out of conflict; from violations of human rights and abuse of power that have led to numerous inequalities. “What is happening on our planet is that we are out of harmony,” says Dr Menchú Tum. “We are so used to solving problems instead of building harmony through consensus.

“I believe that higher education has an important role to play in creating a more harmonious world, but the top-down hierarchical model of education has not worked, and I don’t believe it has the magic to work in the coming years.”

Harnessing Indigenous wisdom for a better future

While Indigenous communities typically lack monetary wealth due to colonisation, systemic discrimination, land dispossession and economic exclusion, they harness extraordinary knowledge and wisdom. This is especially evident in their connection, care and reciprocity, says Dr. Menchú Tum, who is a member of the Mayan people of Guatemala.

“I am part of the majority of people who did not study in higher education. I feel privileged to be sitting down discussing these issues, because indigenous people are not represented, but human knowledge is universal,” said Dr Menchú Tum, championing the invaluable lessons marginalised communities offer to the world.

A key element of Indigenous law is reciprocity, not only between people but with land, structures and institutions. Gratitude is an important code in building all relationships, says Dr Menchú Tum.

“When we live with reciprocity, we say help me and I’ll help you. In that way, we create links of trust and togetherness. I believe that if we make an alliance with reciprocity, we can create many innovations,” she adds. “Working this way, Indigenous communities can qualify each issue through consensus and reciprocity, resolving challenges with agility.”

As the global higher education sector faces a multitude of challenges – including heightened global competition, national policy changes and shifts in population and migration patterns – shaping the future of education with reciprocity and care may be a necessary shift.

Unlearning our evolution

Humans are deeply evolved beings, says Dr Menchú Tum, but when we rely on doing things one way for a long time, “barriers are created through cliches, stereotypes and prejudices that no longer serve the purpose of building something good”.

Indigenous law says that to learn is to unlearn. The idea was born from the women in Indigenous communities, she says, who were “tired of seeing so much inequality and realised that the world needed to learn to unlearn what had been taught.

“I think universities have a very important role to play in unlearning. Firstly, there is a responsibility to study the successes of Indigenous peoples and populations that survive in modern capitalist societies but have their own systems and economic dynamics.

“If we limit ourselves to doing what common sense dictates, we will fail. If we choose a more extraordinary model, I bet on the certainty of our contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030, and even to 2050. We must join forces and reach a consensus. I am ready to be a part of that and the UN and many other global bodies need advice, so let’s give it to them.”

Reflecting on her youth, Dr Menchú Tum remembers it as a time filled with dreams and ideas she wanted to bring to the world. Society’s relationship with young people now fascinates her, she adds.

“The spark of today’s youth is much more evident. They are beginning to bring the behaviours and attitudes that we need for a world of harmony, and a will to shape things in their own way. As they move into the world, however, they are faced with uncertainty and distrust,” she says.

“Let us not create uncertainty for our youth. Let’s give them a chance. Let’s bet on them and in turn, bet on us. As educators, we have the potential to grow our capacity in responding to young people and help them to shape the prodigality they bring with them in this extraordinary time. Let’s not indoctrinate them into our current ways of working but listen to them and learn from their contexts."

Centering humanity in institutions

Higher education is pivotal in producing solutions to the world’s biggest problems, due to its unique position in integrating diverse fields of knowledge to foster critical thinking, advancing research and developing skilled graduates equipped to address global challenges like climate change, inequality and public health.

“Higher education is primed to create space for multilateralism, where institutions have the opportunity to take the learnings from many different fields to find solutions together,” says Dr Menchú Tum. "We must adopt a new approach that bridges the gap between our collective knowledge: connecting Indigenous wisdom with the broader society, uplifting the perspectives of women in decision-making spaces, and integrating the voices of young people into the frameworks that shape our future.”

Ultimately, she adds: “humanity must be central to all institutions.”