The EU-LAC Foundation took an active part in the EU–Latin America and Caribbean Civil Society Forum, held on 7 and 8 November in Santa Marta, within the framework of the 4th EU–CELAC Summit.
The Forum unfolded in an inclusive and diverse space for participation, reflecting the social, cultural, ethnic and territorial plurality of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union. The meeting brought together around 200 representatives of non-governmental organisations, social movements, indigenous communities, women’s associations, youth groups, persons with disabilities, trade unions, academic institutions and media outlets from both regions.
The EU–LAC Civil Society Forum provided a platform for exchange, collective reflection and the formulation of proposals to strengthen bi-regional cooperation. Its objectives included promoting debate on major global challenges and gathering perspectives from civil society and youth to inform bi-regional policies and strategies. The Forum’s outcomes will be presented at the 4th EU–CELAC Summit.
The Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, Alberto Brunori, moderated the session “Bi-Regional Care Pact: the role of LAC and the EU in the Decade of Action.” In his remarks, he highlighted the multi-stakeholder efforts promoted in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic—bringing together organisations advocating for women’s rights, civil society organisations, regional and multilateral bodies, and government representatives. He also referred to normative and strategic advances in public policies aimed at opening a new chapter of cooperation between both regions in the field of care. Furthermore, he underlined the key role of the EU-LAC Foundation in building the content and substantive proposals that have informed the drafting of the Bi-Regional Pact on Care.
The panel brought together Bibiana Aido Almagro, Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean; Eleonora Betancur González, Director of the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC Colombia); Christian Burgsmüller, Head of Division for the Americas at the European External Action Service (EEAS); Ana Cristina González Vélez, Co-founder of La Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres; Olga Montúfar, President of the Network of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Women with Disabilities LAC (REMIAD); Natalia Moreno Salamanca, Director of Care at Colombia’s Ministry of Equality and Equity; Josefina Sánchez, President of the Soltrecha Home Care Cooperative; and Ximena Torres, Country Representative of the Avina Foundation in Colombia.
Speakers agreed that care should be understood as a paradigm that places life at the centre of public policies and bi-regional cooperation. They recognised that the Care Pact has been the result of a collaborative process between actors from both regions, and stressed the value of bi-regional cooperation grounded in the diversity of knowledge, experiences, practices and regulatory frameworks developed across territories.
Panellists reflected on the multiple dimensions of care — including individual and collective rights, health, education, decent work, human mobility and the environment — and emphasised the need for the Bi-Regional Care Pact to have robust and innovative public–private funding and an inclusive and sustainable coordination mechanism. They agreed that investing in care means investing in social cohesion, equality and environmental sustainability.
Representing the negotiating parties of the Pact, Christian Burgsmüller (EEAS) thanked civil society for its commitment and underlined its vigilant and constructive role. He also invited participants to continue collaborating with the EU-LAC Foundation in the implementation of the Pact once it is endorsed at the EU–CELAC Summit.
Fotos Cortesía de la Unión Europea