Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) Conference
 

The University of Guelph is home to Canada´s only Latin American and Caribbean Master´s (LACS) Program that incorporates the social sciences and the arts. On June 3-4, 2017, the LACS program and the University of Guelph will host the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Founded in 1969, CALACS is the primary organization in Canada devoted to Latin American and Caribbean studies. In addition to its more specific academic goals, CALACS seeks to provide an infrastructure and forum to support an interdisciplinary, international community of academics, researchers, young scholars, NGOs, Latin American and Caribbean communities, and policy makers. 

For detailed information, please consult https://www.can-latam.org/congress/2017/home.   [1]

CALACS last met in Guelph in 2004. This year´s meeting will discuss the topic of Walls, Barriers and Mobility, with two keynote addresses. The first  keynote speaker Mauricio Ospina, from the Canadian Hispanic Business Association will discuss the barriers,  challenges and opportunities that the Latino Canadian community faces.  The second keynote Speaker, Juanita Goebertus from the Institute for Integrated Transitions will comment on the Colombian Peace Agreement for which the Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016. This important academic gathering will showcase 130 papers by scholars from across Canada and from Latin America.  This meeting will also pay tribute to two University of Guelph Latinamericanists, Professors Kerry Preibisch from the Department of Sociology and Jorge Nef from the Department of Political Science.  Jorge Nef junior will read his father´s poetry at the memorial.

 The congress offers a propitious forum to stimulate further interest in the region, including North-South relations and the re-negotiation of NAFTA. 

LACS and CALACS invite you to join us in Rozanski Hall, at the University of Guelph, on June 3 and 4, 2017.  For the conference program and other information visit https://www.can-latam.org/congress/2017/home [2] or contact calacs@uoguelph.ca [3].