RUITEM Lisbon International Forum

The XIV General Assembly and the XIII RUITEM International Forum in Lisbon on 11-12 June were a success thanks to the work of our colleagues Fernando Nunes da Silva, Jorge Gonçalves, Joana Castro, Rui Marques and their collaborators, and to the participation of the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon, whom we thank for their support.

The General Assembly approved the incorporation of 4 new universities:

• Mackenzie Presbyterian University (Brasil)
• Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brasil)
• University of a Coruña (Spain)
• University Veracruzana (Mexico)

The creation of 2 new Working Groups was also agreed:

• Municipal governance
• Rural community development

Due to this, a readjustment of the different groups has been made, which you will receive shortly. You know that you can always request the changes in them that you consider more appropriate to your activity and that participation is not at all limited to the group in which you are registered.

We appointed Francisco Islas (U. de Anáhuac, Mexico) as Vice-President, together with Fernando Nunes da Silva (Instituto Superior Técnico de la Universidad de Lisboa, Portugal) and Gilberto J. Cabrera (U. de La Habana, Cuba) as Delegate for the Caribbean.

The Working Groups reported on their activities and proposals for the future. It was recommended to use the great potential that the international characteristic of RUITEM can have in the generation of activities, with the participation of a minimum of 2 RUITEM universities (according to their statutes).

It was agreed to hold the XV General Assembly and XIV RUITEM International Forum 2019 in Panama, thanks to the generous offer of Carlos Bellido and his collaborators between June and July under the theme «Local Development: Governance, Tourism and Environment».