Colombian Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs at the IAI

Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, the Colombian Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs (external link, opens in a new window), H.E. Yadir Salazar Mejía, the Colombian Ambassador (external link, opens in a new window), and Juana Castro Santamaría, Minister Counsellor at the Colombian Embassy, were received by the Director of the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (IAI, Ibero-American Institute) of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (SPK, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) Barbara Göbel, and the Deputy Library Director and Director Collections Colombia, Christoph Müller. After a tour of the institute and an insight into the collections, in particular the holdings on Colombia, an interesting exchange took place about scientific and cultural cooperation between Germany and Colombia, developments in European research on Latin America and the Caribbean, and the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation for broader access to cultural heritage. The current global tectonic shifts and their consequences for the internationalization of science and culture were also discussed.

The IAI's diversified holdings on Colombia, which are relevant for research, include 80,000 books, 4,250 periodicals and 500 electronic periodicals and databases, as well as 1,150 maps, 900 sound recordings, 350 image documents, 160 posters, 100 graphics, and 270 films (DVDs). Of the 12 estates of German-speaking scientists that are of great importance for Colombia, the estate of Konrad Theodor Preuss (1869-1938) contains important ethnographic, historical and archaeological materials, and the estate of Eduard Seler (1849-1922) includes records of indigenous Colombian languages.

The Colombian Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs was in Germany to attend the Global Disability Summit (external link, opens in a new window) 2025 in Berlin.