CLACSO's end-of-year message
The first year of management by the Steering Committee and the Executive Secretariat Team of CLACSO has been completed. Twelve months of intense and fruitful activity in the many areas covered by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences.
During this time we set out to work with the network of centers in all regions and in most countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, building a CLACSO of proximity through direct, horizontal and collaborative relationships with the directors of the associated centers.
CLACSO has established itself as a global network with a deep Latin American focus. In this regard, we have taken concrete steps to strengthen relations with institutions and networks in Europe, China, and Russia, which undoubtedly intensifies South-South cooperation.
We also signed important agreements with sister institutions, boosted the postgraduate network by creating new proposals and training modalities; developed research by multiplying calls for scholarships and renewing the Working Groups for the next three years; redesigned the open access publications area to produce more and better books; and completely redefined the communication area, achieving a wider and more effective dissemination of the network's activities.
2019 was a turbulent year for the region. Our societies took to the streets to express their weariness with an economic model that oppresses and hinders the equitable development of society, while simultaneously attacking the environment, leaving us on the brink of an unprecedented environmental catastrophe.
As a Council, we have expressed our solidarity with the struggles and demands of the people of Ecuador, Haiti, Chile, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Colombia, who have bravely risen up to confront neoliberal policies and social injustices. We were also shaken by the return of old civic-military coup practices, where the hand of imperialism is undisguised, threatening the democracies of the region.
Looking back and contemplating the path we have traveled prepares us to face, in a better way and with the same determination as always, the many challenges that the social sciences and humanities must face in our region and the world.
With conviction and strength, we envision a 2020 that calls upon us to redouble our efforts, understanding that the complexity of our times compels us, as social scientists, to go ever further in generating critical reflections and alternative courses of action for the progressive transformation of societies.
That is our unwavering commitment.
There is no knowledge without joyful passions. Therefore, this greeting and toast to a 2020 that finds us all united on the path of political and social change, in human rights, in the defense of the environment, to continue advancing towards true gender equality, recognizing diversities and dissent, promoting dialogue among different forms of knowledge, and building the equality, justice, and freedoms that remain to be achieved.
Let's raise a glass to a new year of networking, building together a local CLACSO, committed to the development of critical thinking.
Karina Batthyány
Executive Secretary
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