Havana, Cuba - Cuban first vice-president Miguel Diaz-Canel said university students must question cultural models that currently spread as imposed on the island and he insisted in the need for the creation of values that favor cultural, ethical and humanistic development.

The top government Cuban official participated as guest at the 3rd National Council of the Cuban University Student Federation, held over the weekend in Havana.

Diaz-Canel called for reflection on the role of Cuban university students in the face of an international scenario marked by the spread of banal contents and the promotion of false consumption needs, and he stressed the importance of relations between the universities and society.

During the forum, the students addressed their role in fighting inappropriate consumption models and in creating alternative spaces for recreational activities at the universities.

University Federation president Antonio Darias called for the defense of Cuban identity as he alerted about some cultural gaps currently opening in new generations of Cubans and which aim at transferring negative values and alienating the youth from their reality.

Abel Prieto, former Cuture minister and current advisor to President Raul Castro suggested the fostering of collective debate and said that cultural recreation is crucial to develop values. He added that new cultural proposals must be considered instead of prohibited, but from a critical position.