Together with the recently established Center for European Studies at San Francisco University of Quito (USFQ), the EU-LAC International Foundation organised a Meeting of Research Centres and Study Associations based in Latin America and the Caribbean dedicated to the analysis of the European Union and Bi-regional Relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe, which was held in face-to-face format at USFQ in Quito, Ecuador, on 12-13 December 2022.
About 20 representatives of research centres and study associations based in Latin America and the Caribbean were invited to an open exchange on the recent political, economic and social challenges for EU-LAC relations and the effects of those challenges to their respective research agendas.
Specifically, deliberations revolved around the following themes:
- Effects of current global challenges on the priorities of research agendas of centres and scientists, including trends in theoretical and conceptual reflections, research questions and methodologies;
- Impact of recent challenges on the transfer of information and knowledge from research centres and associations to national and Latin American and Caribbean societies, as well as to European societies;
- Challenges and opportunities that have emerged for EU-CELAC bi-regional cooperation in the new global scenarios;
- The ways in which research centres and associations have succeeded - or had troubles - in influencing decision-making processes at national and regional level, with regard to cooperation with the EU;
- Convergences, complementarities and possible joint efforts to create greater synergies and strengthen the work of each of the invited institutions.
The EU-LAC Foundation looks forward to continuing the collaboration with those research centres and associations, as well as European Think Tanks which had been invited to a similar Meeting in April 2022 in Berlin (Germany), in the forthcoming year so as to produce relevant inputs for the upcoming EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government in July 2023.
