The Executive Director of the EU-LAC International Foundation, Dr Adrián Bonilla, was invited to speak during the European University Association (EUA) Annual Conference, which took place from 22-23 April 2021.
During the session "Nurturing global partnerships through education and research", Dr Adrián Bonilla addressed in his video message the EU-CELAC Action Plan adopted in 2015 by the Heads of State and Government that foresees the continuous creation of a biregional Higher Education Area through dialogue and cooperation between bi-regional academic actors. The EU-LAC Foundation supports this goal with the “Matrix“ - a consensual reference document between bi-regional, regional and sub-regional academic actors from the EU and LAC on the objectives, strategies and actions necessary for the construction of the EU-LAC Common Higher Education Area, and the identification of some initiatives that are currently contributing to this consensual framework.
Furthermore, Dr Adrián Bonilla emphasized that academic communities, students, researchers, rectors and their respective associations have engaged in a wide range of cooperations and joint initiatives since decades. In this context, the EU-LAC Foundation has contributed with numerous Capacity Building workshops, dialogue fora and webinars on Programmes and research funding schemes which are open for collaboration of researchers from the EU and LAC, as well as Calls for studies, analyses and events about issues of particular relevance for the bi-regional partnership.
EUA represents more than 800 universities and national rectors’ conferences in 48 countries. The EUA Annual Conference is a yearly opportunity for higher education stakeholders to come together to exchange their perspectives on topical issues. Through various plenary and parallel breakout sessions, the 2021 EUA Annual Conference on 22-23 April discussed the universities’ path "Towards a vision for 2030".