The São Paulo and South America Liaison Office, together with the Alumni Office of Freie Universität Berlin, hosted a dinner in São Paulo for alumni in Brazil. As part of the joint project “Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America” (Mecila), which took place that same week, the gathering was fortunate to include many professors from the FU Berlin, specifically from the Latin American Institute (LAI).

The diverse group of participants once again underscored the broad reach that FU Berlin has in São Paulo and Brazil. A total of 24 alumnae from virtually all humanities and social sciences disciplines attended, including literature, communication, economics, philosophy, history, veterinary medicine, and anthropology.

The first vice president, Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott, who had traveled to São Paulo for the Mecila inspection, gave a very warm welcome speech to kick off the evening. The alumnae then introduced themselves to facilitate discussion during the evening. As the reviewers' recommendation to fund the third phase of Mecila had been announced the day before, this evening marked the culmination of a very intense and successful week.

The topics of the evening included the current professional situations and research projects of those present. In addition, there was much discussion about the possibilities of resuming more intensive contact with the FU – which, given the very academic profile of the participants, could lay the foundation for future collaborations.