Opportunities and challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean during and after the pandemic

Videoconference with the Ministry of Education of Argentina and international scientific organizations

Authorities from the Executive Secretariat of CLACSO participated in the videoconference “Opportunities and challenges for Latin America during and after the pandemic” organized by the Ministry of Education of Argentina, together with other international scientific institutions and associations to analyze possible responses from the field of international educational and scientific cooperation to the challenges that arise in the current context.

On the afternoon of Thursday, April 23, the Minister of Education of Argentina, Nicolás Trotta, together with the Secretary of Educational Cooperation and Priority Actions, Pablo Gentili, inaugurated the meeting, which was attended by, from CLACSO, its Executive Secretary Karina Batthyány, Pablo Vommaro, Director of Research; and Nicolás Arata, Director of Training and Editorial Production of CLACSO; the president of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), Mara Viveros; the vice president of the International Sociological Association (ISA), Geoffrey Pleyers; the executive director-elect of the EULAC Foundation, Adrián Bonilla; the member of the board of the Latin American Sociological Association (ALAS), Breno Bringel; the vice president of the Institute of the Americas (IdA), Carlos Quenan; the director of the Nordic Institute for Latin America (NILAS), Andrés Rivarola; the president of the European Council for Social Research on Latin America (CEISAL), Maria Clara Medina; The Vice President of the Permanent Academic Forum Latin America Caribbean/European Union (FAP ALCUE), Héctor Casanueva; the Director of the Center for International Studies of the University Institute of Lisbon (IUL), Luis Fretes Carreras; the Coordinator of the International Forum Russia/Ibero-America, Victor Jeifets; and the General Director and Founder of Conexx Europe, Maximiliano Alonso.

“Exchanging perspectives with you is essential to strengthening collective learning and analysis of the current global situation, the outlook for future alternatives, and to valuing the experiences of each country in confronting this pandemic,” Nicolás Trotta emphasized. He explained: “Fate has allowed the Southern Hemisphere to appreciate the painful lessons being learned in the Northern Hemisphere. But we also know that this is a process that has not ended anywhere in the world, and that there is not only a cost in life, but also a social and economic cost, which in the case of Latin America also has a particularly harsh impact on the most vulnerable sectors. It is in this context that our states are comparatively less equipped to stimulate the economy and distribute wealth and opportunities.”

For her part, the Executive Secretary of CLACSO emphasized that “this meeting, convened by the Ministry of Education of Argentina, allowed us to exchange ideas on the various actions that each of our institutions, in our case the Latin American Council of Social Sciences, has been planning and carrying out within the context of this pandemic. The idea is to work together on the main issues facing the Latin American and Caribbean region in the future. It was very important that it was convened by the Ministry of Education of Argentina, a government that has demonstrated the importance of scientific knowledge, and of scientific knowledge in the social sciences and humanities, for the development of our countries.”

The meeting resulted in proposals for inter-institutional cooperation that will be explored further in the coming weeks.

[+] Thinking about the pandemic