VI International Postgraduate School: Beyond the International Decade for People of African Descent

The VI CLACSO International Postgraduate School “Beyond the International Decade for People of African Descent”, hereinafter “the School”, continues the tradition of the anti-racist struggle, based on the paradigm of Historical Reparation, viewed from the perspective of ancestrality and renewed maroonage, highlighting its integral, symbolic, material, intersectional and emancipatory character.

The School takes place within an exceptionally complex international context, characterized by global polycrisis and the reconfiguration of systemic and structural racism, as it enters the Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2024-2034). During this period, the slave trade and enslavement have been recognized as the most serious crime against humanity in history, one that does not have a statute of limitations and is not limited to mere compensation. This new phase of struggle begins with the main goals of the First Decade still unfulfilled, necessitating a deconstruction of the anti-racist agenda, incorporating current emergencies and perspectives, and emphasizing that people of African descent are collective subjects of rights, not merely isolated individuals.

The School takes place on the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Working Group “Afro-descendants: Counter-hegemonic Proposals,” which created this academic and political initiative in alliance with the Afro-descendant movement. This in itself constitutes an act of historical reparation in the face of epistemic racism.

Despite some progress in international initiatives and the momentum of the Afro-descendant movement, the pillars of Recognition, Justice, and Development remain central objectives and, simultaneously, sources of tension. A key point of contention in today's debate revolves around the "International Declaration for the Promotion, Guarantee, and Full Respect of the Rights of People of African Descent." This refers to the tension between individual rights and collective rights as a people, and the erosion of the latter as part of the global polycrisis.

Given this panorama, new scenarios are emerging that demand the deconstruction of the anti-racist agenda and rigorous preparation to sustain it. Nelson Mandela's warning, "The old methods are suicidal today," remains relevant. Within this context, the School focuses its attention on three structuring lines:

1. Anti-racist postgraduate training, from the articulation of the academies and the Afro-descendant movement, with the protagonism of their voices.
2. The agenda of situated knowledge, anchored in Amefricanity (Gonzáles, 1998) and in the contributions of intellectuals from the field of Afro-diasporic and African studies.
3. The influence on public policies, based on the third generation of rights of Afro-descendant peoples, towards the historical reparation of Afro-descendant and African peoples.

Within the CLACSO training system, our School is a powerful, consolidated counter-hegemonic space, constantly evolving, and whose international relevance reaffirms the decisive role that education plays in the fight against racism (Mandela, 2012). We embrace this thesis from the perspective of restorative social and racial justice, environmental justice, and digital justice, from an anti-racist standpoint and from the perspective of the people.

• To consolidate a space for postgraduate training and anti-racist action with an impact on public policies for the promotion, guarantee and full respect of the rights of Afro-descendant peoples, from the emerging paradigm of Historical Reparation and the validity of the legacy of the Durban Conference.
• To make visible the thought and political action of references, academics, activist leaders of the Afro-descendant movement.
• To contribute to the construction and consolidation of the anti-racist agenda, as a premise for the successful realization of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent.
• Promote the strengthening of Afro-diasporic networks focused on combating systemic and structural racism, and the development of emancipatory proposals.

It is an intensive postgraduate training program that integrates critical Afrocentric, Afrofeminist, decolonial, and intersectional perspectives. Held since 2017, it is currently in its sixth edition. It is aimed at activists and leaders of Afro-descendant movement organizations, master's and doctoral students, and professionals responsible for the formulation, management, and evaluation of public policies. Its distinctive feature is the connection between academia and the Afro-descendant movement in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

The central theme of the School is "25 years after Durban in terms of historical reparation."

The main thematic areas of the School are the following:

1. Afroepistemologies and the production of counter-hegemonic knowledge.
2. The challenges of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, in the context of historical reparation.
3. Black decolonial feminisms: bodies, territories and struggles.
4. Ethnoeducation, anti-racist education and curricular justice.
5. Racialization and human mobility: tensions and alternatives.
6. Africa and the Afro-descendant diaspora: memories, articulations and perspectives.
7. Haiti and historical reparations.
8. Racial justice and digital technologies: what to do in the face of Artificial Intelligence?
9. Racism, health and structural inequalities.
10. Afro-descendant youth: participation, resistance and contested futures.
11.  Art, culture and contemporary maroonage.

The school will be offered in person as part of the program for the International Convention “25 Years After Durban.” It will feature keynote lectures, panels, thematic workshops for collective discussion, book presentations, an Afrocentric fair, and cultural activities. This postgraduate program combines academic excellence, the production of situated knowledge, and the development of an anti-racist advocacy agenda. Since the school will be based in Mexico, it will analyze the experience of the Afro-Mexican movement from an intersectional perspective, using comparative and proactive analysis with Afro-descendant and African experiences.

The call for applications is aimed at:

• Young Afro-descendant graduate students, researchers, and educators who have addressed the topic.
• Activists and leaders of Afro-descendant organizations, with an emphasis on women and youth.
• Master's or doctoral students with thesis projects related to the School's theme.
• Representatives of public policy, NGOs and cooperation agencies involved and interested in the topic.

The selection includes both the participation in the School as its accreditationThe institutions that organize the school They will not cover air or ground transportation expenses or lodging..

An international jury, comprised of members of the academic committee and other designated evaluators, will be responsible for selecting participants. The evaluation will consider academic criteria, gender, Afro-descendant heritage, geographic and institutional affiliation, and social activism, in order to guarantee the participation of students from diverse countries and institutions. The jury's decision will be final and cannot be appealed.

A total of 50 participants.

The result will be announced on the CLACSO websites.

Interested parties should register on the CLACSO website, completing the online form and attaching documentation that proves compliance with the following requirements:  

• Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• Letter of intent, in which the reasons that drive participation in the VI International Postgraduate School “Beyond the International Decade for People of African Descent” are set out.
• Summary of the research project (in the case of postgraduate students).
• Letter of institutional endorsement (in the case of public policy representatives or social organizations).

Applications open until July 26, 2026 

Publication of results: 31 July 2026

Certificates of participation will be given to all students who attend all the activities proposed by the School.