A Pioneering Institution in Latin American Research
The Institute for Latin American Studies will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary on June 18, 2022
№ 094/2022 from Jun 15, 2022
Delayed by two years due to the pandemic, the Institute for Latin American Studies (LAI) at Freie Universität Berlin will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary with an official ceremony open to the public on Saturday, June 18, 2022. Prof. Dr. Marianne Braig, vice president of Freie Universität and a long-term researcher at the LAI, will hold the keynote speech looking back on the institute’s eventful history since its founding in 1970. Welcoming speeches will also be held by president of Freie Universität Berlin Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, vice president for international affairs Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott, institute director Prof. Dr. Stephanie Schütze, and deputy director Prof. Dr. Sérgio Costa, along with some of the institute’s international partners. The event can be viewed via livestream at https://www.lai.fu-berlin.de/lai50/.
The event will include a round table discussion with alumni of the institute and a literary performance organized by Prof. Dr. Susanne Klengel. Prof. Dr. Stefan Rinke and Dr. Karina Kriegesmann will open an exhibition about the history of the institute under the title “Aufbrüche und Umbrüche – 50 Jahre LAI” (New Beginnings and Upheavals – 50 Years of the LAI). Carolina Riaño Trio, Mariachi Internacional El Dorado, and KACATRAM will provide musical accompaniment. The Latin American Institute was founded in 1970 as a pioneering institution in its field, and it has faced significant threats throughout its existence due to proposed cost-cutting measures.
It is one of the leading institutions for research on Latin America in Europe and the largest of its kind in Germany. The LAI is a forerunner in interdisciplinary cooperation and cutting-edge research in all matters related to Latin America. Its members have strongly and repeatedly advocated for its status as a central institute in the face of calls to cut funding.
Venue and Time
- Henry Ford Building, Freie Universität Berlin, Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin, Subway station: Thielplatz/Freie Universität (U3)
- Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. Please register by sending an email to 50-Jahre@lai.fu-berlin.de
- Livestream: https://www.lai.fu-berlin.de/lai50/
Article on the anniversary in Freie Universität Berlin’s online magazine campus.leben (in German)
https://www.fu-berlin.de/presse/publikationen/tsp/2020/tsp-april-2020/50-jahre-lai/index.html