# Thematic Initiatives # Thematic Initiatives ![Amazon Forest in Colombia](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/drclas2/files/thematic_initiatives_banner.jpg?itok=psdcVage) DRCLAS is dedicated to raising awareness about global themes currently relevant to issues in Latin America through various center-wide Thematic Initiatives. ## Paths Toward Recovery In most of Latin America and the Caribbean, the end of the coronavirus pandemic “remains a distant future,” as the Pan American Health Organization has put it. Planning and thinking about the recovery must be done now to avoid a freefall. *Paths to Recovery* will bring together academics and practitioners to study emerging and possible strategies for recovery in areas that Covid-19 has hit the hardest, including economies, public health, education, labor, housing, social welfare, and democracy. ![image of rocks and a body of water](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/drclas2/files/web_image_-_oh_2021.png?itok=7zjzCFh8) ## Paths Toward Recovery Events [### Collaborative Systems for Solving Complex Social Challenges: Preventing Mental Illness in Chile ](/event/collaborative-systems-solving-complex-social-challenges-mental-health-prevention-chile?occ_id=0)October 10, 2023 | 4:00PM - 6:30PM EDT | Thompson Room (110), Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street In Person In-person: to register for this event, click here. Event showcasing Worldwide Week: Harvard’s Chile Regional Office, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, part of the Mahindra series Pedagogies for Life. Speakers: Claudia Bobadilla, Board... [### Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazilian Favelas: The Work of G10 Favelas ](/event/social-entrepreneurship-and-innovation-brazilian-favelas-work-g10-das-favelas?occ_id=0)October 3, 2023 | 5:00PM - 7:00PM EDT | CGIS South, Tsai Auditorium In Person The event will be held in Portuguese with simultaneous English interpretation. Speakers: Gilson Rodrigues, President, G10 Favelas; Givanildo Pereira, CEO and Founder, Favela Brasil Xpress; Suéli Feio, Co-Founder, Costurando Sonhos Brasil; Rosilane Queiroz... [### Haddad Distinguished Lecture: Arminio Fraga ](/event/haddad-distinguished-lecture-arminio-fraga?occ_id=0)April 18, 2023 | 5:00PM - 6:30PM EDT | CGIS South, Tsai Auditorium In Person For a recording of this event, click here. Speaker: Arminio Fraga, Founding Partner, Gavea Investimentos The Haddad Distinguished Lecture was established in honor of Claudio Haddad, Chair of the DRCLAS Brazil Office Advisory Group since 2006, and... [### Religion and Civil Society in Contemporary Cuba ](/event/religion-and-civil-society-contemporary-cuba?occ_id=0)March 31, 2023 | 12:00PM - 1:30PM EDT In Person For a recording of this event, click here. Speakers; Margaret E. Crahan, Senior Research Scholar and Director of the Cuba Program at the Institute for Latin American Studies at Columbia University; Maha Marouan, Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Scholars... [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/calendar) ## LatinX With a growing number of activities in and around the Harvard community to study and celebrate Latinx communities and themes, DRCLAS seeks to serve as a resource to help spread information about these important initiatives. Some events are co-sponsored by DRCLAS as part of our Latinx Initiative while others are organized by groups affiliated with the university. ![image of 4 people watching a sunset](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/drclas2/files/backlit-dawn-foggy-friendship-697243.jpg?itok=aVVAROVp) ## LatinX Events [### Afro-Latinx Literature: Alejandro Heredia and Natasha Alford ](/event/afro-latinx-literature-alejandro-heredia-and-natasha-alford?occ_id=0)April 14, 2026 | 12:00PM - 2:00PM EDT | S-020 (Belfer) In Person Join the Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights for a conversation on contemporary Afro-Latinx literature with novelist Alejandro Heredia and journalist-author Natasha S. Alford. This event is part of Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights, Harvard... [### Dangerous Stereotypes: Correcting Misperceptions About Undocumented Immigrants to Promote Inclusionary Preferences ](/event/dangerous-stereotypes-correcting-misperceptions-about-undocumented-immigrants-promote-0?occ_id=0)April 10, 2026 | 12:00PM - 1:15PM EDT | Ash Center Seminar Room 225, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street In Person You're invited to join Abby Córdova, Associate Professor of Global Affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, for a Global Challenges to Democracy Seminar. This event is part of Ash Center for Democratic Governance and... [### Daughters of Latin America ](/event/daughters-latin-america?occ_id=0)November 6, 2025 | 12:00PM - 1:15PM EST | Thompson Room, Barker Center In Person This panel conversation and live reading explores Daughters of Latin America, a groundbreaking Latina feminist anthology that amplifies the voices of women across the Americas. The collection brings together the work of more than one hundred writers from... [### The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies 30th Anniversary Symposium ](/event/david-rockefeller-center-latin-american-studies-30th-anniversary-symposium?occ_id=0)April 26, 2025 | 8:30AM - 6:00PM EDT | Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences In Person [ More events arrow\_circle\_right ](/calendar) ## Climate Change Climate change is one of the most important long-term threats for the future of our societies. Solutions are complex, depending not only on engineering and policy, but also on imagination and public will towards alternative forms of inhabiting the planet. ![Brazilian savannah](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/drclas2/files/roraima-4569464_640.jpg?itok=8nyulmhb) [### Amazonia & Our Planetary Futures ](/event/amazonia-and-our-planetary-futures-conference-climate-change)On May 7-8, 2019, DRCLAS hosted a symposium that discussed the past, present and future of Amazonia. Topics included deforestation trends and their ties to climate and health; moving towards a viable future, including the importance and role of indigenous peoples; and ongoing and emerging initiatives towards river-flowing, rainforest-based economies across Amazonia. ## Climate Change Events [### The Future of Biodiversity: Reconciling Nature and Economics ](/event/future-biodiversity-reconciling-nature-and-economics?occ_id=0)May 7, 2026 | 4:30PM - 7:00PM EDT | Tsai Auditorium In Person As part of Boston Climate Week, The Harvard University Biodiversity and Planetary Stewardship Initiative (HUBS) , anchored at the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability invites you to a panel discussion and networking reception around the Future... [### Gender and climate change: an intersectional approach from Latin America and the Caribbean ](/event/gender-and-climate-change-intersectional-approach-latin-america-and-caribbean?occ_id=0)November 7, 2023 | 4:30PM - 6:45PM EST | Tsai Auditorium In Person Registration is not required. Join us for a two-part event that aims to create a space for an overview of the intersection between climate change and gender—emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of its impacts in Latin America & the Caribbean... [### Protecting the World’s Penguins. Pablo Borboroglu Lecture 2023 Winner of the Indianapolis Prize, the world's leading award for animal conservation ](/event/pablo-borboroglu-lecture-2023-winner-indianapolis-prize-worlds-leading-award-animal?occ_id=0)Oct 5, 2023 | 6:00PM EDT | Zoom or Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge Virtual Free Hybrid Lecture Speaker: Pablo (Popi) Garcia Borboroglu, Founder and President of the Global Penguin Society and Winner of the 2023 Indianapolis Prize. Advance registration required for both in-person and online REGISTER Join Dr. Pablo Borboroglu, the... [### Sustainable Development and Challenges of the COPs: A Conversation with Izabella Teixeira ](/event/sustainable-development-and-challenges-cops-conversation-izabella-teixeira?occ_id=0)September 21, 2023 | 12:00PM - 1:15PM EDT | Wexner Building, Harvard Kennedy School - W-434 A&B In Person To register, please click here Speaker: Izabella Teixeira, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel, United National Environment Programme Moderated by: Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography; Chair of the Department of Global Health and... [ More events arrow\_circle\_right ](/calendar) ## What We Do [### Art, Film, & Culture ](/art-film-culture) [### Faculty Grants ](/faculty-grants) [### Lectures ](/lectures-seminars-and-conference) [### Student Opportunities ](/student-opportunities) [### Thematic Initiatives ](/thematic-initiatives) [### Visiting Scholars ](/visiting-scholars-fellows)