Agreement Between FLACSO and the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative: Interview with Luis Alberto Quevedo, Director de FLACSO Argentina

A cooperation agreement between the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLACSO) was signed in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, on 27 May. "The historical experience of the genocide and diaspora of the Armenian people, coupled with the relevant humanitarian commitment of the Aurora Foundation is articulated in this way today to the academic tradition of FLACSO in studies on public policies for social integration", explained the directors of the organizations at that time.

"The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and Aurora Prize in particular have already positioned themselves in the global humanitarian universe," said Pedro Mouratian, one of the main promoters of the agreement, to Prensa Armenia. The agreement was signed with the presence of Aurora and 100 Lives Foundation CEO Arman Jilavian, FLACSO Academic Secretary Valentina Delich, the promoter of the agreement and member of the Aurora Prize panel of experts Pedro Mouratian and the general coordinator of the project Cesar Ceriani Cernadas.

Prensa Armenia interviewed Luis Alberto Quevedo, Director of FLACSO Argentina, who gave his perspective of the scope of the agreement. "In this order, it is proposed to conduct, on the one hand, a Research Competition on racism, social discrimination and human rights, which is based on international human rights principles and the principle of non-discrimination. The phenomenon of immigration in Latin America, the presence of racism in contemporary Latin American societies, the experiences of genocides and ethnocides and their policies of memory and rights building, the environment and the social, cultural and health impacts of climate change and humanitarian action from an intercultural perspective are positioned as central themes of the contest". Quevedo explained that  an academic committee and jury will select three short-term research proposals to be carried out in 5 months effective from July to December 2018.

Luis Alberto Quevedo

There will also be a seminar on "Human Rights and Migration Crisis" during May 2018. "The seminar is composed of three discussion panels (human rights policies, migrations and refugees in Latin America, environment and population risk) and a round table of conclusions and perspectives for action," detailed Quevedo.

"We consider in this sense that the vast experience of the Armenian people, both national and diasporic, in human rights policies and their commitment to concrete actions have the potential to offer fundamental inputs for FLACSO and the Latin American scientific community," said Quevedo. "It is precisely because of the constant work in the field of community action and the defense and promotion of human rights, the policies of the memory regarding the Armenian Genocide, the constant construction and debate on cultural identity and the constant commitment to educational formation."