Message to CLACSO Centers: 8 months of management
Dear colleagues:
I would like to extend my warmest greetings and my gratitude for these first months as Executive Secretary of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences.
I have been linked to CLACSO for more than 25 years and the new responsibility allowed me to get to know, share and work on a daily basis with those who make up this academic network of knowledge and solidarity from where we seek, through the production of critical and situated knowledge, to build a more just, integrated and egalitarian region.
We have undertaken our work at a time of crossroads for the social sciences and the humanities. Far from cultivating a pessimistic outlook, we interpret this moment as a historical cycle fraught with urgent needs but also with great hopes, in which many social actors work daily to combat the deep-seated inequalities, injustices, and anxieties that powerful interests inflict upon the vast majority of our societies.
The threats looming over the social sciences and humanities are plain to see. The closure of academic programs, budget cuts, the implementation of arbitrary evaluation criteria to assess the knowledge we produce, and the persecution of academics and intellectuals are some of the serious issues that concern us and against which we are prepared to fight. CLACSO must take a clear and visible stance, denouncing these injustices and redoubling its efforts to support and protect those living through these uncertain times. The best way to ensure this is by allowing for a plurality of ideas and perspectives, including dissenting opinions, because only collective endeavors that guarantee this diversity are destined to endure.
The violations of the peace process in Colombia—which have already claimed the lives of 700 social leaders—the devastation of the Amazon rainforest under the indifferent gaze of Jair Bolsonaro, the increasing precarity of life in Central America, and the enormous social crisis left as a legacy by Mauricio Macri's government in Argentina highlight some of the challenges we face. We believe the best way to address these challenges is by rethinking our commitment to producing critical and emancipatory knowledge; by developing original perspectives from which to explore responses to these problems; and by engaging with democratic and inclusive public policies and the actions of social movements in all their forms.
The task is enormous and time is short. The responsibility of those of us who work in the social sciences and humanities must be inextricably linked to contributing to the creation of conditions that expand rights, guarantee freedoms, and give substance to democratic life. All that is threatened today; all that makes it worthwhile to redouble our efforts in pursuit of more prosperous times for our people.
In these brief lines I would like to communicate the main points around which we have worked collectively from January until the moment we share these words with you.
The Executive Secretariat team focused its efforts on strengthening the Network through multiple initiatives that aim to consolidate CLACSO's academic, critical, participatory profile, committed to democracy, human rights, social justice, and the defense of peace. Some of these initiatives are listed below.
1. Consolidating networking through dialogue and cooperation . We held in-person meetings in all the regions where the Network is organized. The eight meetings with CLACSO centers had the main purpose of presenting the work plan for the 2019-2021 period and incorporating into the agenda the initiatives, proposals, and concerns conveyed by more than 300 directors and researchers. This aims to be a collective, pluralistic, and regionally focused endeavor where the centers that make up the network are the protagonists.
2. Initiate the process and ensure the conditions for updating the statutes . Following the commitment we made at the XXVI Ordinary Assembly held in Buenos Aires in 2018, a consultation process was carried out that laid the groundwork for the Extraordinary Assembly held in Bogotá in 2020. To ensure that this process is carried out through a dynamic of reflection and ongoing dialogue with the centers, a commission was created, composed of representatives from the different regions, to study, review, and clarify the functions and responsibilities of the various bodies that make up CLACSO, with the aim of promoting the optimal fulfillment of the Network's purposes and functions. The second consultation with directors of member centers is currently underway, and all information regarding this process has been posted on the CLACSO website.
3. Establish the venue for the next Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Social Sciences . In the same vein, a fundamental step was taken in the planning for the three-year period, guaranteeing that the XXVII Ordinary Assembly and the 9th Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Social Sciences will be held in Mexico during 2021 with the support of the CLACSO centers in Mexico and various Mexican government and civil society institutions.
4. Incorporate a feminist worldview to combat inequality . We are paying particular attention to gender inequalities due to the conservative backlash against women's advancement in the region. It is crucial to more effectively confront the stigma of antifeminism, conservative or contemporary misogyny, and the ideologies that fuel them. To this end, we have expanded our gender training programs and are promoting specific research on the topic.
5. To open an in-depth debate on scientific and academic evaluation . The Executive Secretariat promoted meetings with various national and international organizations (including CONACYT of Mexico and COLCIENCIAS of Colombia) to establish the need to review the criteria and procedures used to evaluate scientific output in the fields of social sciences and humanities and to propose alternatives. A first step in this direction will be the Latin American and Caribbean Seminar on Scientific Evaluation, to be held in Mexico City in November 2019. This seminar will launch a forum whose objective is to present an alternative proposal for scientific evaluation to the 2021 Assembly. This seminar is organized in partnership with CONACYT and AmeliCA.
6. Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution . This initiative, which will take place in Havana in October, aims to commemorate—as the late Roberto Fernández Retamar said—the most original of the revolutions that our continent has produced. The 100th meeting of the CLACSO Governing Council will be held there, along with a series of activities organized by and with member centers in Cuba.
7. Strengthening relations with social science councils from a Global South perspective . In recent months, we have deepened our ties with the Arab Council of Social Sciences (ACSS) and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) to develop joint activities in research, training, and publications. We have also consolidated links with institutions within China's academic and scientific system from a Global South perspective.
8. The Research Directorate launched a new call for proposals to form Working Groups , which generated significant interest and received 176 proposals from over 7.000 researchers in 67 countries across five continents . The evaluation and selection process for the new CLACSO Working Groups for the 2019-2022 period is currently underway.
9. The Postgraduate Network launched six specializations and created four new ones, focusing on strategic topics for development and training in various areas of the social sciences and humanities: care policies, Afro-Latin American and Caribbean studies, research methodologies and methods, and the relationship between memory and resistance. Nearly 4.000 students and more than 250 professors participated in the virtual learning platform during the first semester.
10. The Communications Department was created , whose first task was to strategically rethink the Network's communication efforts, generating a new institutional image and developing multiple dissemination approaches. The first measure is already operational: CLACSO has a new website that has made communication between CLACSO centers, the academic community, and the general public more fluid, participatory, and dynamic. This resulted in a 60% increase in the number of visitors compared to the same period of the previous year. New social media platforms were added, and CLACSO Radio was created, complementing the new productions of CLACSO TV.
11. Commitments to open access and dissemination policies were redoubled . The process of creating a new open access platform was initiated, integrating the Library, the Bookstore, and the Latin American Archive of Social Sciences and Humanities. This platform will more harmoniously integrate and facilitate access to the Network's publications. Alongside the weekly dissemination of new publications, the Executive Secretariat team fostered new partnerships with some of the continent's leading social science and humanities publishers: Fondo de Cultura Económica (Mexico), Fundación Biblioteca Ayacucho (Venezuela), and Siglo XXI (Mexico).
12. Training new researchers is a priority, and so far this year, eight new calls for proposals and two special projects have been launched in partnership with 17 institutions . More than half of the participating researchers come from priority countries. Among the research grant opportunities, we highlight: the “Edelberto Torres Rivas” grant on migration and human mobility with an emphasis on Central America and the Caribbean; the critical issues of gender inequalities in Latin America and the Caribbean; Elites, state capture, and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (in partnership with OXFAM and FES Colombia); and the Research and Training Program on Andean agroecological systems (focused on Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru in partnership with the McKnight Foundation). These calls for proposals received more than 550 applications and generated interest from nearly 2.000 researchers.
13. Securing CLACSO's resources and funding . This is undoubtedly a central concern of the current administration, and we are working to diversify funds and resources to guarantee and expand all planned activities. In this regard, in addition to confirming the renewal of the project with ASDI, we have initiated contact with various institutions and foundations working on issues related to those of our Council to explore avenues for cooperation and joint work. This semester, we have undertaken collaborative actions with OXFAM, FAO, FES, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, UNICEF, ISC, UNESCO, the McKnight Foundation, and other institutions and organizations.
14. Finally, it is important to mention the efforts that have been made to prioritize work and improve the working conditions of the staff of the CLACSO Executive Secretariat , generating better conditions to guarantee collective and harmonious work towards the objectives established for these years.
All these actions advance the commitment made to you at our last Assembly: to build a stronger, more active, independent, plural, diverse, academically rigorous and excellent network of networks, with the conviction that this is the path we must take given the challenging political, economic, environmental and social situation we are experiencing in our region.
I cannot imagine that any of this would be possible except within the framework of collective work, of which this network has been a pioneer.
These times in Our America call upon us all to continue with the tasks and responsibilities we have undertaken. I want you to know that the Executive Secretariat team is always ready to collaborate on every task, redoubling its efforts and committing itself to all the people who make up the CLACSO network.
I invite you to stay in constant contact and redouble your efforts and hopes.
Fraternally,
Karina Batthyány
Executive Secretary of CLACSO
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