the goan I network
PANAJI
After a tough competition, the UGC Center for Latin American Studies at the Goa University (GU) has won the bid to host the 20th Federation Internacional de Estudios Sobre America Latina y el Caribe “FIEALC” in 2021.
Faculty members of the UGC Center for Latin American Studies won the bid at the 19th FIEALC which was held last month at Hungary, where they faced stiff competition from a Chinese University and the St Petersburg University, Russia.
“We’re really content to have won the rights to host it, after a tough fight,” Dr Aparajita Gangopadhyay, Director of UGC Center for Latin American Studies and HoD of International Relations at GU told “The Goan” on Wednesday.
The FIEALC is an international organisation of Latin American and Carribean scholars from the Latin American and Carribean region, as well as Asia and Europe. It’s one of the largest federations of Latin American scholars which is held every two years, explained Gangopadhyay.
FIEALC brings together around 500 scholars on Latin America who debate and discuss things like policies, language, literature, cinema, society and other aspects related to Latin America and the Caribbean.
This time round, the UGC Center for Latin American Studies wants to make the congress “comprehensive and holistic,” said Gangopadhyay. This means that the organisers will try to include sessions on science and technology, trade and education, as opposed to only existing sessions like those on literature, culture and society.
“A congress of this magnitude should not be pushed into the periphery because people think it’s more literary and social,” she said, adding that these congresses are meant to help policy making. Further, she explained that the FIEALC will also help other countries understand India better, and help break stereotypes for both sides.
“When they think of India, they think of Ayurveda and Yoga, which is very much a part of India, but also, India is the fifth largest economy, a superpower in terms of software, and a rising giant in industries. Hopefully when they visit India, they will come to realise things like this,” she said.
