A regional commitment to critical thinking and socio-environmental justice
El Latin American Council of Social Sciences, Together with the University of Manizales and the CINDE from Colombia, launched the first cohort of the Master's Degree in Political Ecology, an international academic program that brings together Latin American students and teachers committed to understanding and transforming socio-environmental conflicts.
During the opening ceremony, authorities highlighted the strategic nature of this educational initiative in the context of the global ecological crisis. In his address, the rector of the University of Manizales, Duván Emilio Ramírez OspinaShe emphasized that the Master's program represents a key space for strengthening critical thinking in the region, linking rigorous academic production with social commitment. She also highlighted the institutional alliance with CLACSO as an opportunity to develop an internationally focused program rooted in Latin American realities.
For its part, CLACSO emphasized that the Master's program is part of a broader commitment to democratizing access to knowledge and promoting a social science engaged with the major challenges of our time. Along these lines, Pablo VommaroThe Executive Director highlighted the importance of political ecology as a field capable of questioning the dominant forms of relationship between society and nature, as well as contributing to the construction of alternatives based on environmental, social and territorial justice.
From CINDE, Salim Chalela y Sara Victoria Alvarado Salgado They also emphasized the formative and pedagogical dimension of the program, highlighting the importance of building educational processes that recognize the diversity of knowledge and experiences in the territories and emphasizing the need to promote approaches that articulate education, human development and sustainability, training professionals capable of influencing their contexts from an ethical, critical and transformative perspective.
The speakers agreed that this program not only seeks to train specialists, but also to strengthen regional networks of critical thinking and action, promoting dialogue between academic knowledge, territorial experiences and social practices.
The Master's program lasts two years, is offered online, and proposes an interdisciplinary approach that integrates politics, environment, territory, and culture with a strong research component. It is aimed at graduates, professors, researchers, activists, and public officials interested in delving deeper into contemporary debates on political ecology from a Latin American perspective.
With this first cohort, the organizing institutions promote a training space that not only responds to current challenges, but also contributes to imagining and building horizons of transformation in the region.
