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DRCLAS Andes Initiative

The Andes Initiative at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) works to increase the visibility of the countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela at Harvard University through diverse academic programmatic activities. The Initiative aims to enhance collaborative research among Harvard faculty and their counterparts in the Andean region by encouraging faculty and student engagement, and serving as a portal for Andean-related activities for the Harvard community and the public at large.

For more information, contact DRCLAS Andes Initiative Program Associate Paola Ibarra.

2011-12 Program Overview

In its second year, the Andes Initiative featured activities related to this diverse region through scholarly seminars, conferences, film screenings and other events across the University and in the region. In the fall 2011, the Andes Initiative co-sponsored South America Project: Hinterlands Urbanism, a conference organized by the Graduate School of Design (GSD). The Initiative also held a discussion featuring Thomas Ponniah, Mark Weisbrot and Cathy Rakowski on The Revolution in Venezuela, a book published by DRCLAS; a screening of the Ecuadorian film Pescador, with the film director and producer; and the workshop Documentary and Anthropology: Experiments of the Aftermath in Colombia. Other seminars included: The Two Faces of Colombia, The Two Faces of Cartagena: Art and Ethno-history in the Andes, featuring Juan Ossio and Thomas Cummins; U.S.-China-Latin American Relations: President Humala’s Administration Perspective, with Harold Forsyth, Peru’s Ambassador to the United States; Rural Take-Off in Peru with Richard Webb; and Bolivia’s Recent Political and Economic Trajectories and Its Tough Development Questions.

During the spring, the Andes Initiative and the Consulate of Colombia in Boston organized the first Colombia Week at Harvard. The three-day event featured students, faculty and expert practitioners in panel discussions on early childhood education, mining and sustainable development, and the challenges and opportunities in Colombia’s emerging economy. As part of Colombia Week at Harvard, the conference on Drugs, Violence and Drug Policy, organized in collaboration with the Universidad de los Andes, brought together scholars from Colombia, Mexico and the United States, fostering day-long dialogue under the leadership of Harvard professor Philip Heymann. Outstanding keynote addresses were delivered by Mark Kleiman (UCLA) and the Director of Colombia’s General Police, Oscar Naranjo. The conference concluded with the presentation of the English manuscript of the book Antidrug Policy in Colombia.

Events and seminars organized jointly with other DRCLAS programs included: Reading the Cuban Revolution from Bogota, with Robert Karl; Poesía Andina, with Julio Ortega and a group of Colombian and Peruvian poets and scholars; and On the Urbanization of the South American Hinterland, which builds on the long-term GSD South America Project. Additionally, the Andes Initiative co-sponsored Art in Action: Creative Governance for Cities in Crisis, featuring former Bogota Mayor, Antanas Mockus, as well as a talk by Daniel Schydlowsky on Peru’s Economy under President Humala.

In May, the Universidad de los Andes hosted the two-day conference in Colombia, Nuevas Perspectivas sobre la Violencia en Colombia, co-sponsored by the Andes Initiative and organized by Harvard professor James Robinson, in collaboration with Felipe Botero and Miguel García of Universidad de los Andes

During the summer of 2012, the Center offered summer internship opportunities in Bogota at the Colombian Center for Social Initiative and Semana, and took a direct role in the organization of internships for pre-med students at Universidad de Los Andes. In addition to the pre-existing programs in Peru managed through the Regional Office in Chile, these new efforts represent more opportunities for Harvard student engagement in the region.