Eduardo González
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) have signed an agreement for joint actions related to “the rights of Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean”.
The agreement, signed by the director of AECID, Antón Leis, and the rector of Carlos III University, Ángel Arias Hernández, foresees two main activities: collaboration in the course Afrodescendants in Latin America and the Caribbean. History, rights and current challenges, which will be launched by UC3M, and collaboration in the organization of the conferences on culture, society, politics and the rights of people of African descent, which will be held at the University.
The course “aims to become an academic space of excellence in Spain in the field of the challenges and rights of people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean, seeking to provide comprehensive knowledge on the subject, based on interdisciplinarity (history, geography, human rights, theory and philosophy of law and international relations), for Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean leaders and activists,” as reported this past weekend in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
Upon satisfactory completion of the course, students will obtain a certificate issued by the Carlos III University of Madrid. AECID is committed to support the implementation of the course and to collaborate with UC3M in its design and academic content, as well as to contribute an amount of thirty thousand euros for UC3M to offer thirty scholarships (the registration fee will be one thousand euros) and to maintain this financial support for scholarships for two editions of the course. For its part, the University undertakes to implement and teach the course and to provide an amount of five thousand euros for five scholarships to cover the tuition costs of Latin American and Caribbean students.
The Law of Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, approved this year, establishes that the AECID must promote collaboration mechanisms with universities and encourage the generation and transfer of expert knowledge for sustainable development. In addition, the Agency, which reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, has a Program for Cooperation with Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean that promotes projects specifically aimed at the full equality of opportunities for these populations.
For its part, UC3M, through the Francisco de Vitoria Institute of International and European Studies, has an extensive teaching and research experience on issues related to human rights and cultural and ethnic diversity, and specialized working groups on human rights, vulnerable groups and international law, on Ibero-America, on international solidarity, culture and human rights. Likewise, the Francisco de Vitoria Institute has been developing activities related to leadership training and training of representatives and activists of the indigenous peoples of Latin America and plans to expand its activities with the aim of contributing to the training of Afro-descendant people and communities in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
