The purpose of CONLAT is to set in motion a plural and informed conversation among actors and voices from Latin America concerned with understanding and addressing the critical realities that run through it. The region is under pressure, faces multiple challenges and dilemmas, and has much to say in the face of the accelerated erosion of the functioning of the international system. The rising presence of the realpolitik on the global chessboard, it sharpens structural asymmetries and weakens spaces of global governance. 

The articulation of constructive and transformative perspectives is urgent in the face of the sense of chaos and helplessness caused by: the use of force and coercion as a first resort, geopolitical tensions, advancing environmental destruction, widespread social inequality and the concentration of economic power, the manifestations of unbridled capitalism, extreme political polarization, humanitarian indifference to degraded conflicts, the normalization of exclusionary, inequitable, and discriminatory power projects, and the deterioration of democratic values and legal frameworks. This is an uncertain and unsettling world, hyperconnected by digitization that is sustained and fueled by social media used for conflicting purposes. How can we transition, then, from such interconnection toward the construction of an agora that explores innovative pathways with an impact on public dialogue? 

In a time of estrangement, fractures, and indifference, conversations are essential. Within this framework, we seek to promote structured and continuous exchanges that connect Latin American voices and actors with a national, regional, and global perspective. This is a regional effort that seeks to provide alternative and/or disruptive interpretations of critical issues and explore paths of deliberation, diversifying approaches and fostering exchange among academic spheres and different socially organized sectors.  

We seek to influence the quality of public debate in governmental and non-governmental decision-making spaces with a view to overcoming conceptual and institutional inertia in the political, social, economic, cultural, and diplomatic fields. CONLAT aims to expand spaces for rapprochement and exchange among regional actors with diverse counterparts from the Global North and South through the generation of synergies with academic circuits and social organization networks, maximizing the use of resources and digital platforms. The incorporation of new generations and invisible groups into the conversation is essential.

The objectives of the Colloquium will be achieved through systematic activities in collective spaces based on four-way inter-institutional collaboration open to different academic, social, and practitioner communities in Latin America and other regions. Specifically, activities include workshops, seminars, interviews, focus groups, summit meetings, the editing of brief reports and thematic dossiers, and the publication of texts, always accompanied by diverse dissemination methodologies. CONLAT's activities are supported primarily by the Ford Foundation, in addition to institutional resources and support from other sources.  

In the 2025-2026 biennium, CONLAT will focus its attention on three priority and interconnected issues that cut across all of Latin America: democracy, violence, and inequality. The selection of these thematic cores responds to the urgency of finding innovative ways of understanding and formulating responses that are participatory and sustainable.