For the Universidad de La Frontera internationalization and the connection that has been established through continuous knowledge exchange between universities allowed multidisciplinary dialogues and important partnerships that led the UFRO to the academic position it has among the traditional international institutions.

In this context, the Institute of Indigenous and Intercultural Studies (IEII) of the Universidad de La Frontera is focused on associativity and internationalization.

The IEII participated at the International Symposium on Indigenous Rights and Demands in Extractivist Economies, which was part of the activities within the 30 Anniversary Celebration of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, in order to connect and exchange knowledge beyond our frontiers.

The activity took place on April 26th, with the participation of Natalia Caniguan, the director of the Institute of Indigenous and Intercultural Studies. She commented: “When we participate in this kind of events, the objective is to establish partnerships with foreign universities, such as the University of Pennsylvania in this case, and other institutions that are also participating in this event. It is an important step within the process of internationalization of IEII and the UFRO.”

The invitation also shows that the Institute is internationally recognized because of their work regarding issues linked to indigenous peoples. This also allows us to be present in the macro debate on these topics.

The representatives of the UFRO analyzed the topic “Participatory processes and the indigenous consultation in Chile”, and were accompanied by experts from Canada and Argentina, who analyzed the topic of indigenous rights at the international level.

The interdisciplinary symposium was co-sponsored by the Latin America and Latino Studies Program, the Department of Africana Studies and Penny World House. The participants and experts came from different countries and addressed different topics linked to indigenous peoples.

Written by: UFRO Institute of Indigenous and Intercultural Studies