in 2023, the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz was the main organizer of the Mecila Annual Meeting and Young Researchers Forum "Medialities of Conviviality - Inequality in Latin America", which took place from 2 to 5 October in São Paulo, Brazil. Interdisciplinary panels and roundtables dealt with the question of how asymmetries of knowledge and divergent knowledge practices and representations influence conviviality and social coexistence (e.g. through negotiations between different social classes, cultures, genders and in relation to human and non-human relationships). During the visit to the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE / Universidade de São Paulo), the participants experienced first-hand the challenges of managing collections in contexts characterized by inequalities and differences. The director of the MAE, Eduardo Neves, emphasized the relevance of North-South dialogue and exchange.
What is Mecila?
The joint project Mecila - Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America has been in existence since 2017. The center researches past and present forms of social, political and cultural coexistence in Latin America and the Caribbean and aims to contribute to a better understanding of conviviality in diverse and unequal societies. In a consortium of German and Latin American institutions, the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (IAI) works together with the Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Cologne, the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), the Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (Cebrap), the Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (IdIHCS/Conicet) of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, and El Colegio de México. Mecila is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). As a member of the Mecila joint project, the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut coordinates the research area "Medialities of Conviviality" and is responsible for the information infrastructure of the joint project, which also includes networking the libraries of the Mecila consortium.
