From the 9th to the 21st October Venezuelan student leader, Abraham Aparacio will be visiting Britain to take part in a speaking tour organized by Student friends of Venezuela, the student section of the Venezuela Information Centre.

He will be speaking in colleges and universities across the country about the current situation in Venezuela, including the massive extension of all levels of education.

Abraham is 25 and is from Caracas . He is the Bolivarian Federation of Students, National Director for Universities and is studying business administration.

In May, the NUS Black Students conference voted unanimously to support and build solidarity with the exciting expansion of democracy and social progress in Venezuela led by President Hugo Chavez.

Recent years have seen Venezuela's vast oil wealth re-directed into providing education and healthcare for all Venezuelans for the first time, huge advances in women's and LGBT rights, empowerment of the Black and indigenous majority of Venezuelans and the provision of subsidised and free food to tackle malnutrition.

Unlike in Britain , free education up to university level has been enshrined as a constitutional right. Illiteracy, which previously afflicted 2 million adults, has been declared by UNESCO to be eradicated. Millions of adults have returned to education, from which they were previously excluded by fees and poverty and seven in ten Venezuelans are now involved in some form of education.

Education spending has increased threefold to over 7% of GDP - providing for the refurbishing of 8,750 schools, the building of 700 new schools, and opening up free higher education to more than 400,000 new students.

These policies and other measures including a new constitution guaranteeing social and political rights have been consistently supported in ten national elections since 1998.

A number of students' unions are already involved but it is still possible to participate in this exciting opportunity to hear first hand from a Venezuelan student representative. If you would be interested in hosting a meeting with Abraham in your students union please email students@vicuk.org

We are asking that participating students' unions or societies contribute what is possible towards the cost of the tour. This might include collections at the meeting itself, approaching campus trade unions for sponsorship and students' union funding.

You might also need to put a couple of people up for the night.

In order to help keep down the cost we are also asking that you try to identify an interpreter at your institution for the meeting. You should make clear that Abraham will speak Spanish with a Venezuelan dialect. If this is not possible please contact us.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

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