Video series: Why Latin America matters
Latin America matters! With its rich history, culture, its impressive resilience and creative innovation in the face of such a diverse array of challenges, Latin America can indeed show the way forward inspiring for positive change. Working together with Latin American institutions, our researchers engage in creating a platform for equitable knowledge exchange paramount in addressing complex global challenges. Leiden University shows in three short films what joint projects are like.
The first film highlights the cooperation with Brazilian researchers in the field of biotechnology. Studying Zebrafish allows researchers to create model systems in treating infectious diseases. In this case, the treatment of Tuberculosis with the use of natural products native to Brazil.
Ageing populations
A major challenge nowadays for the rapidly ageing populations is to delay or reduce age-related disability by promoting healthy lifestyles and to detect and modify mid- and late-life risk factors. Immunological changes during the aging process make the elderly population more fragile and susceptible to infections. The problems are the same in Latin America and the Netherlands, but the population is different due to genetic background, environment, culture and lifestyle. Therefore, it is very interesting to compare them.
Social innovation
Social innovation is fundamental to discovering solutions to the challenges we face – from sustainability to governance models and from feminism to urban innovation, Latin America offers rich examples of grassroots actions that are reshaping communities and propose alternative solutions to violence, economic struggles or climate change.
More about our collaboration with Latin America
If the examples in the videos have inspired you or you’d like more information about this collaboration, please contact Regional Coordinator, Mara Constantinescu. She will be happy to tell you more.
Leiden University and internationalisation
Research doesn't stop at our national borders. Every day we work hard to make Leiden University a hub for global challenges. We train Dutch and international students to become world citizens, and focus on problems close to home and further afield. The knowledge and insights that arise from bringing together national and international perspectives lead to stronger teaching and research. To achieve this, researchers and staff work closely with colleagues in almost all of the countries in the world. Leiden University also has cooperation agreements with certain countries/regions, including China, Indonesia and Latin America.
Photo: Monique Shaw