The EU-LAC Foundation attends the V LAC-EU Academic Summit in Alcalá de Henares
The EU-LAC Foundation participated in the V LAC-EU Academic Summit, that took place in the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain, from 6 to 8 July 2023. This event marked a critical moment in the efforts to strengthen academic and cultural ties between Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and the European Union (EU). Notably, the meeting aimed at elaborating proposals towards the III EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government.
Invited by the LAC-EU Permanent Academic Forum (FAP ALC-UE), the EU-LAC Foundation participated in this Academic Summit as part of its ongoing work to support the construction of the EU-LAC Common Area for Higher Education. The Foundation and FAP ALC-UE collaborate regularly, including in the “Matrix of Objectives and Strategic Lines for the Construction of the EU-LAC Common Area of Higher Education”, coordinated by the Foundation.
The summit's agenda was rich and diverse, covering topics from the role of universities in promoting a culture of peace to the future of higher education, and including roundtable discussions on the strategic partnership between Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union. Highlights included discussions on gender and higher education, students' views on the EU-LAC Common Area of Higher Education, and the pivotal role of higher education in EU-LAC cooperation, particularly in science, technology, and innovation.
Dr Adrián Bonilla Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, and Dr Anna Barrera, Programme Manager, actively contributed to the event's discussions. During the inauguration session, Dr Bonilla provided insights into the evolution of the EU-CELAC strategic partnership over the past two decades. He emphasised on the impacts of global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical shifts on higher education and cooperation between the regions.
Dr Bonilla also stressed that, since its establishment, the EU-LAC Foundation has closely accompanied decisions and lines of action agreed upon by Heads the State and Government from the EU and LAC and played an important role in offering platforms for dialogue and connections between civil society groups, including academic communities. He welcomed the reflections and efforts generated by actors such as FAP ALC-UE to bring to the III EU-CELAC Summit the role that knowledge plays in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and cooperation programmes between the EU and CELAC regions.
Dr Barrera was invited to take part in the Roundtable “Development, present and future of the Strategic Partnership between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union: the role of education”. In her intervention, she EU-LAC civil society fora organised by the Foundation to generate inputs in preparation for the III EU-CELAC Summit. She presented the results of the EU-LAC Knowledge Forum and outlined the forum's recommendations for establishing a robust institutional framework for the EU-CELAC Area of Higher Education.
These recommendations emphasized the importance of political will, mutual trust, information sharing, earmarking financial resources, and leveraging existing structures to ensure a systematic and quality-driven approach to building the common educational area. The framework proposed for the construction of the EU-CELAC Area of Higher Education comprises three strategic levels. At the strategic level, it seeks to reinforce the bi-regional partnership formed during the 1st LAC-EU Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1999, aiming to address shared challenges and foster a sustainable future. The political level calls for enhancing dialogue among key stakeholders, establishing regular ministerial meetings, and defining cooperative educational programs that integrate existing agreements and achievements across various platforms and regions. Finally, at the operational level, the emphasis is on reaching a consensus on practical steps for core aspects of the common area, including accreditation, quality assurance, and mobility schemes, while clearly defining the roles of relevant authorities and securing the necessary financial resources to implement these actions effectively.
The V LAC-EU Academic Summit concluded with the approval of a final Declaration advocating for the establishment of a Common Area of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation as a cornerstone of the bi-regional strategic partnership; an underscoring the critical role of academic and scientific cooperation in facing global challenges.
The organisation’s continuous efforts to support the constitution of the EU-CELAC Area of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation were also recognised in the final Declaration of this Summit. The EU-LAC Foundation's participation in the meeting further reinforced its commitment to bridging academic communities across both regions.
