CLACSO in the Caminhos Amefricanos program

From August 24 to September 7, the V Caminhos Amefricanos Seminar is being held in Peru , within the framework of the South-South Exchange Program Caminhos Africanos – Peru, Angola and Dominican Republic Editions , promoted in collaboration with the Ministry of Racial Equality (MIR) of Brazil ; the National University of San Marcos , based in Lima, capital of the Republic of Peru; the Agostinho Neto University , based in Luanda, capital of the Republic of Angola; and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) Dominican Republic , based in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.

The objective of the meeting is to stimulate and promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences and public policies that contribute to combating and overcoming racism in Brazil and in African History and Culture and the African Diaspora, with special emphasis on Ethnic-Racial Relations Education , enabling the implementation of short-term international exchange actions.

The seminar opened with a speech by Tiago Santana , Secretary of Affirmative Action Policies, Combating and Overcoming Racism at Brazil's Ministry of Racial Equality, who presented the progress made in public policies to combat racism, one of the hallmarks of Minister Anielle Franco 's administration under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva . Also participating were Kátia Regis , General Coordinator of Racial Justice and Combating Racism at the Ministry of Racial Equality and professor at the Federal University of Maranhão; Cidinalva Câmara , also a professor at the Federal University of Maranhão and General Coordinator of the Caminhos Amefricanos Implementation Program; and Maria de Fátima Ferreira Pinto , National Manager of Afro-Entrepreneurship at the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE).

Representing the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) was the political scientist and Afro-Argentine activist Federico Pita , coordinator of the CLACSO Working Group “Civilizational crisis, reconfigurations of racism, Afro-Latin American social movements”.

In the words of Secretary Tiago Santana , “the partnership with CLACSO strengthens dialogue with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and expands the opportunities for developing anti-racist educational proposals during exchanges .” Similarly, CLACSO Executive Director Pablo Vommaro emphasized that “the alliance with the Ministry of Racial Equality, the Ministry of Education, CAPES, and SEBRAE is a strategic commitment to building a much more equitable and anti-racist CLACSO, one that consolidates South-South cooperation. CLACSO’s research and training departments are fully available to participate in these projects . ”

In this way, CLACSO and the MIR are advancing in a strategic alliance for racial justice , with the prospect of expanding joint actions in areas such as social technologies and scientific sovereignty of the Global South, always with the horizon of contributing to the construction of a more just, equal and anti-racist world.

The Caminhos Amefricanos Program was established by Interministerial Decree No. 233, dated July 31, 2023, as an initiative of the Ministry of Racial Equality in conjunction with the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), and SEBRAE. Its objective is to contribute to combating racism, promoting racial equality, and decolonizing curricula through short-term international exchanges in African, Latin American, and Caribbean countries, strengthening both initial and ongoing teacher training within the framework of Law No. 10.639/2003, which mandated the study of Afro-Brazilian and African History and Culture in Brazil.

Within this framework, 15-day exchanges are held annually between Black and Quilombola students and teachers from Brazil and institutions and social movements in African, Latin American, and Caribbean countries, which also send their representatives to Brazil. In 2024, exchanges took place in Maputo (Mozambique), Bogotá (Colombia), São Luís (Brazil), and Praia (Cape Verde), and further exchanges are planned for 2025 in Lima (Peru), Luanda (Angola), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), and São Luís (Brazil). CLACSO's participation in these initiatives strengthens the production and dissemination of Afro-diasporic knowledge for overcoming racism.