Havana, Cuba.- The first edition of the Conference on Franco-Cuban Studies on the Teaching of History began today at the Paris Nanterre University with the participation of specialists from both countries.

Academic and pedagogical issues are the focus of the forum scheduled until Thursday, to continue a visit by French teachers and experts to the island in 2018.

Professor Felipe de Jesús Pérez, from the Enrique José Varona University of Pedagogical Sciences in Havana, commented that it is a work project with the Paris 8 (Vincennes à Saint-Denis) and Paris Nanterre universities, particularly with scholarly groups from Latin America.

Pérez specified that they developed a very profitable exchange of experiences between history teaching and research schools, with topics on the agenda that include the techniques, tools and literature used in each country, in a mutually enriching exercise.

The Cuban specialist was linked to teaching in 2016 with París 8, a stay that allowed collaboration between the houses of higher studies to be activated. He highlighted the incorporation to the initiative of the University of Camagüey Ignacio Agramonte, represented at the event by Professor María Isabel Bardina.

According to Pérez, 17 researchers are working on the project on the Cuban side, also from universities such as Havana and Medical Sciences, and the Fidel Castro Center.

For her part, Bardina expressed expectations for the conferences and discussions, which she also considered relevant in the aspect of professionalization, particularly the training of masters and doctors.

The expert Enrique Fernández (Paris 8) highlighted the opportunity that the Franco-Cuban forum represents for the exchange of knowledge and practices. He underlined the shared interest in maintaining the Conference of Franco-Cuban Studies on the Teaching of History.