On 12 to 15 June 2013, the European Council for Social Research on Latin America –CEISAL, the University Fernando Pessoa and the Centre for Latin American Studies launched the Seventh Congress of the European Council for Social Research on Latin America, entitled “Past, Present and Future in Latin America”. The event took place in Oporto.
The Congress was a venue dedicated to interdisciplinary dialogue and self-reflection about the past, present and future of Latin America. The discussion included Latin American outreach to the world, its historical construction and identity in the 21st Century. Benita Ferrero Waldner, President of the EU-LAC Foundation, was invited to share her thoughts and experience at the plenary session on the 13 June. In this occasion, the President pinpointed crucial stepping-stones in the bi-regional relationship between Latin America and the EU, and identified potential avenues for bi-regional cooperation that could overcome common challenges and maximise the bi-regional partnership. Moreover, Ms. Ferrero-Waldner highlighted some activities of the EU-LAC Foundation in view of bringing closer together the societies of both regions and guarantee an even more flourishing future for the bi-regional association.
During the three-day congress 79 symposia were carried out, regrouping different disciplines, fields, theories and methods around 5 relevant thematic areas including: political science and international relations, literature and culture, economics and tourism, anthropology, sexuality and gender, among others. Relevant symposia concerning the bi-regional relation were successfully carried out, analysing subjects like bi-regional migration dynamics post- crisis, regional integration and frontiers, comparative studies of the current EU-LAC and LAC-China relations, among others.
The event also regrouped well-known academics and intellectuals representing the “scientific commission” that ensured the smooth running of the Congress and the informed exchange of ideas and initiatives.
You can find the full speech of the EU-LAC Foundation President, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, here (in Spanish)