The challenges of living together in societies marked by growing inequalities and divisions appear even more pressing today than they did around eight years ago, when the Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America (Mecila) began its activities. Recent developments along three interconnected lines of conflict seem particularly challenging.

The first line of conflict is the climate emergency and the difficulties in implementing the policies and measures needed to mitigate it. On the one hand, the interdependencies between the various regions of the world in fields such as the economy, health, the environment and the climate have become even more evident and profound, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. On the other hand, national and nationalist strategies for overcoming these challenges prevail.

The second line of conflict relates to new tensions at both levels: international and domestic politics. On the international stage, the realignment of political blocs within the context of multipolar globalisation, while challenging the unequal global order, gives rise to new imbalances and tensions, as starkly reflected in the outbreak of prolonged wars. In domestic politics, the advance of the far right and illiberal regimes in several countries has created serious uncertainties about the future of democracy.

The third major tension between conviviality and inequality that requires particular attention concerns the widening North-South asymmetries. In this field, our primary focus is on examining how the Merian Centres foster equitable interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration.

These three lines of conflict structure the proposed conference. The main objective of the conference is to present the progress made so far by Mecila, the social relevance of the knowledge developed, and the prospects for continuing the Centre’s research programme and its dissemination to academic and non-academic audiences in Latin America, in Germany, and internationally. Another key goal is to strengthen existing networks of cooperation and collaboration. Accordingly, other pertinent German joint projects and particularly the Merian Centres based in Accra, Delhi, Guadalajara, and Tunis as well as the DFG Humanities Centre of Advanced Studies Futures of Sustainability and the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies will contribute to the conference programme. 

Dates: 11-13 December 2025
Site: Henry Ford Bau HS B, Freie Universität Berlin, Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin

Registration: https://cloud.mecila.uni-koeln.de/index.php/apps/forms/s/x7jidrAerePZQ73DKZB3kCCY 
Please note that registration closes on 5 December or earlier if all seats are taken.