Humboldt Colloquium fosters the sharing of expertise and knowledge in Latin America

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is hosting researchers from Latin America and Germany at an interregional meeting in Chile’s capital city. While most of the attendees hail from Chile, there will also be numerous guests from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador and Mexico. The researchers from a range of fields will discuss the opportunities and challenges of international research cooperation. How can science diplomacy promote international exchange? What contributions can Humboldtians from Chile and Latin America make to international collaboration? What does the Humboldt Network’s future in the region look like?

The colloquium aims to promote long-term partnerships and develop innovative solutions to global issues. Keynote lectures by Humboldtians will be complemented by specialist workshops and panel discussions to intensify the collaboration between researchers in the Humboldt Network. 

Journalists are welcome to attend the colloquium! Official photos will be taken at the opening ceremony.

Opening ceremony: Thursday, 26 March 2026, 4 p.m.
Venue: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Aula Magna “Manuel José Irarrázaval”, Av. Alameda Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 340, 8320165 Santiago

Greetings:

• Markus Zanner, Secretary General of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 
• Carola Bruhn, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chile
• María Angélica Fellenberg, Vice-Rector for Research and Postgraduate Studies, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
• Carmen Gloria Feijoo, Ambassador Scientist of the Humboldt Foundation in Santiago de Chile

Keynote lectures:

• Verena Häussermann, recipient of the Humboldt Foundation’s Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso: „Hidden Beauty: Chilean Patagonia’s Marine Forests – Biodiversity, Knowledge Gaps, and Threats“
• Kate Rigby, Alexander von Humboldt Professor, Director of Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities, University of Cologne: „Bridging Disciplinary Divides to Close the Sustainability Gap: International Collaboration in the Environmental Humanities“

Friday, 27 March, starting 9:00 a.m.
Venue: Heidelberg Center Latin America, Las Hortensias 2340, 7510350 Providencia, Santiago

Panel Discussion: Latin America in international scientific cooperation and science diplomacy: perspectives from the Humboldt Network

• Carmen Gloria Feijoo (Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile)
• Rodrigo Gibilisco (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina)
• Juliana Pasquarelli Pérez (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil)
• Margarita Valdovinos (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

Followed by: Workshops and panel discussions in specialist groups.

Dinner followed by a speech, 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Olá Hotel Providencia, Av. Holanda 307, 7510602 Providencia, Santiago

• Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser, Professor of Political Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: “Democratic Self-Defense in a Turbulent World”

Saturday, 28 March 2026, starting 9:00 a.m.

Supporting programme with presentations on location

Every year, the Humboldt Foundation organises up to two major colloquia abroad to which all the alumni from the respective country or region are invited. The colloquium in Chile is being financed by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. The Foundation maintains an interdisciplinary network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries around the world – including 63 Nobel Prize winners.