The GEO Sustainable Development Center, part of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), has intensified its efforts to promote sustainable and equitable practices through collaborative projects that strengthen international cooperation between regions of the global north and south.
In April 2023, the GEO Center organized a networking event funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, bringing together civil society organizations to discuss international cooperation strategies. During this meeting, the World Service Program of the PODION Corporation from Colombia and the AGIAMONDO Cooperation Agency from Germany were officially presented. The main objective was to establish alliances and exchanges that facilitate the implementation of initiatives and support in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on the mobilization of resources in both north-south and south-south directions.
Marcelo A. Corti, Executive Director of the GEO Center, highlighted the importance of these collaborations: "It is a good opportunity to connect with different parts of the world through a process that requires collaboration to empower Latin American countries. The mobilization of resources between the north and the south represents not only an act of socio-environmental justice but also the strengthening of capacities to achieve a more sustainable future in our region."
The participation of the PODION Corporation aimed to learn about the work and experience of Argentine organizations to enhance them, as they have done in other parts of the world, in areas such as biodiversity conservation, clean energy development, and water care. Jaime H. Díaz, Director of the Corporation, presented the South-South Cooperation Program to expand the impact of organizations and receive support from other entities. Díaz emphasized the importance of including indigenous peoples in these initiatives, recognizing their ancestral knowledge of the land.
Johannes Holz, Director of AGIAMONDO, shared the South-North approach of the program for long-term financing purposes. World Service is a cooperation program that promotes the connection of organizations committed to caring for our Common Home through cooperation projects with qualified personnel. Created in July 2019, it has a network of more than 100 committed social organizations in the Americas.
The meeting, held in the historic building of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at UBA, was attended by organizations such as Asociación Sustentar, Fundación Vida Silvestre, Fundación Ambiente y Medio, Asociación Civil GestiónARG, QI Argentina, and Fundación Regenerar, among others. These collaborations reflect the commitment of the GEO Center and UBA to promoting sustainable and equitable practices, strengthening international cooperation for sustainable development in the region.
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