IBEI hosts the first meeting of the EU-funded doctoral network ‘LAC-EU’
After having held an online meeting on 1 February 2024, researchers, experts and representatives from the seven institutions of higher education leading the project and the various associated partners in 12 different countries gathered in Barcelona on March 21 and 22, to launch the EU-funded MSCA-DN: Understanding Latin American Challenges in the 21st Century (LAC-EU).
The two-day workshop began with a welcome from IBEI Director Laura Chaqués. During these sessions, the Project Coordinator, Andrea C. Bianculli (IBEI) and researcher Jacint Jordana, also IBEI president, presented the doctoral network. Attendees discussed the general structure of the network, its PhD projects and the integration of the dissertations into the LAC-EU research programme, along with the administration and organisational issues. Each beneficiary presented the doctoral programme of their home institution, and associated partners shared their insights and discussed their role in the secondments of the PhD students. The kick-off meeting also featured an online presentation by the Project Adviser from the European Commission, Riccardo Ricci.
Several public activities took place in the framework of the kick-off meeting. On Thursday, March 21, the IBEI hosted the roundtable “Translating is understanding: LAC-EU” on the challenges of translation in the 21st century between Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. On Friday, March 22, a policy roundtable, also hosted by IBEI, focused on the relations between the European Union and the Latin American and the Caribbean states, discussing their agenda and upcoming steps. That same day, Dr Anna Barrera (EU-LAC Foundation) offered a seminar in the framework of the practitioner lecture series organised by IBEI, entitled “a practitioner’s insight into a career in an international organisation”. On Friday afternoon, the first meeting of LAC-EU concluded with a guided visit to the exhibition ATLÁNTICAS. Una historia de libreras, libros y librerías, at Casa Amèrica Catalunya.
The kick-off meeting is only the first step of a long-term endeavour that will run for 48 months.