Austrian Latin America Institute
The Austrian Latin America Institute (LAI) is an interdisciplinary information, education and cultural center on Latin America in Vienna . It was founded in 1965, has the legal form of an association and receives public funding for its scientific and development activities. Around half of the annual budget is financed from its own resources, primarily from income from educational events and from membership fees. The institute has been located in Palais Schlick in the 9th district since 1994 . The LAI has been part of the Vienna Adult Education Center since July 1, 2020 .
University program Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies (MA)
The six-semester university course in Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies (MA) was the only Latin American studies course on an academic level in Austria. It was aimed at graduates from all fields of study who wanted to acquire an additional qualification in Latin America and who aspired to professional activities in the areas of business, ecology, communication, international relations, diplomacy, development cooperation, human rights work, political advice, education or tourism. The course was carried out in cooperation with the University of Vienna and concluded with a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies.
Etta-Becker-Donner scholarship program
The Etta-Becker-Donner scholarship program serves to promote contacts between Austrian and Latin American researchers and to establish and deepen institutional contacts. Visits to scientific institutions that correspond to the research interests of the scholarship holders and their institutions support the scientific exchange and explore possibilities for future cooperation. The scholarship program is named after the first President of the Austrian Latin America Institute Etta Becker-Donner and is financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research.
Language courses
With almost 250 courses annually, the institute is the largest provider of Spanish and Portuguese courses in Austria. In some cases, introductory seminars on indigenous languages such as Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní or Mayan languages are also offered.
Cultural event
The regular program of events in the institute's rooms includes exhibitions, book presentations, concerts, lectures and discussion events.
Latin America Research Austria
The Austrian Latin America Institute supports Latin America Research Austria (LAF Austria) (formerly "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreichische Latin America-Forschung"), an association for the interdisciplinary networking of Latin American researchers in Austria. As of November 2014, LAF Austria had 104 members. Every year the association organizes a scientific conference that has been taking place since 1985 in the Federal Home for Adult Education St. Wolfgang in Strobl on Lake Wolfgang. In the Investigaciones: Research on Latin America series , university papers by young Latin American researchers are made publicly available. LAF Austria was founded in 1983 on the initiative of members of the Austrian Latin America Institute and, like the institute itself, is a member of CEISAL .
Atención: Yearbook of the Austrian Latin America Institute
The institute's scientific yearbook has been published annually since 1997 under the title Atención as a continuation of the journal for Latin America Vienna , published from 1975 to 1996, with articles in German, Spanish and English. The choice of topics was based on the semester topics of the university course Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies (MA). The publication was discontinued in 2013.
Scientific and cultural projects
- On the fringes of the EU-Latin America Summit 2006 as part of the Austrian EU Presidency in Vienna, the LAI organized the international conference series “Regional Integration, Intercontinental Cooperation EU - Latin America and the Issues of Poverty, Development and Democracy” (REAL 2006).
- The education and music festival Onda Latina , which took place across Austria between April and June 2006, also goes back to an initiative of the LAI.
- The LAI coordinated the project "LAC-ACCESS - Connecting High-Quality Research between the European Union and Latin American and Caribbean Countries" (January 2007 to April 2009), the aim of which was to bring research institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean into the dynamic of the European Research area, with a focus on the 7th EU Framework Program for Research and Technological Development.
- In 2012 the LAI organized the 54th International Congress of Americanists in Vienna.
Library
From 1973 to 2011 the institute operated a library and documentation center with specialist books and journals on the economy, politics, history, culture, society and ecology of Latin American countries as well as literary works by Spanish and Portuguese-speaking authors and their translations into German. The library was a member of the European information and documentation network on Latin America REDIAL . Since the library was closed, the holdings can be borrowed from the C3 library for development policy .
See also
- Latin America Institute at the Free University of Berlin
- Ibero-American Institute of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation Berlin
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ LAI becomes part of the VHS. Wiener Volkshochschulen GmbH, June 30, 2020, accessed on July 3, 2020 .