Clarec - Cambridge Latin American Research in Education Collective

We’re happy to share this event with our CLAREC community ✨

The II Abdias Nascimento Conference — organised by the Transnational Anti-racism in Education Research & Exchange Programme — takes place next week (2–3 March), in person at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, and online (except for the workshops).

This is a student-led conference developed by participants in the programme, with some CLAREC members involved in the initiative.

🎧 Sessions in English and Portuguese (with live translation)
🌍 In person + online
🗓 2–3 March

Programme and registration:
https://www.even3.com.br/ii-conferencia-abdias-nascimento-689157/

Our collective had a busy and meaningful year. We hosted powerful encounters at the Faculty of Education and beyond, through the work of current and alumni members of CLAREC and our wider communities.

From the regular CLAREC Cinema Sessions + Conversations, founded by Anna Maria Del Fiorentino Women's Sense of Belonging, which brought education and lived experience into transnational dialogue through British and Latin American films, with thought-provoking contributions from Heidy Marie , Grace Batley, Nara Paixão, Larissa Farias and Ewa.

Since CLAREC’s foundation, International Women’s Day has been a key moment in our collective calendar. This year, deep exchanges were facilitated by Heidy, Alicia Garcia Montufar M.Q., Mafer Ro and Anna, alongside the first cohort of the Abdias Nascimento Anti-Racism in Education Programme from Brazil. Together, we honoured the women who came before us in our families and intellectual trajectories.

Heidy and Mafer convened the powerful event Together We Are More, creating a collective space to process international political elections and their impacts in Latin America and beyond. This was a space to express feelings, share concerns and explore how to support one another and society.

Our CLAREC Whereabouts seminar series facilitated exciting exchanges with Latin American scholars in Cambridge, including visiting scholars Juliana Nogueira and Gabriel Lisboa de Melo. As we do every year, we welcomed both new and returning members, Latin American and non-Latin American, at our Michaelmas welcome meeting, convened by Mafer and Anna.

CLAREC has increasingly become a platform that extends beyond Cambridge, supporting popular education spaces in Latin America, including a CLAREC-supported Reading Group and workshops of the Popular University of Social Movements, fostering pedagogies of articulation between traditional and academic knowledges. We were also inspired by conversations with CLAREC alumni Alexandre da Trindade and Rocío Fernández , who shared their post-PhD journeys beyond Cambridge.

This year, CLAREC members and alumni were visible at conferences and events across different parts of the world, showcasing the collective’s ongoing intellectual and political commitments. We also strengthened relationships with Centre of Latin American Studies, University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Brazilian Society - CUBS , and took part in wider Latin American events in Cambridge, from seminars and cinema screenings and debates to community gatherings.

The CLAREC community wishes all our friends a restful and joyful break. We look forward to more togetherness, dialogue and collective work in 2026. 🌿✨

🎙️ CLAREC is proud to share the new podcast Across the Meadows, set in the beautiful Grantchester Meadows, by our member Anna Maria Del Fiorentino — a space where Cambridge scholars and friends reflect on their educational journeys and evolving sense of belonging at the University of Cambridge.
The first episode, Bridging Worlds, Immigration, and Belonging, features a powerful conversation with fellow CLAREC member Heidy M. Pérez-Cordero, who shares her path to Cambridge, where she is now just about to complete her PhD in Education.
🎧 Listen here:�Spotify�https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cPmk4mLbVVfaoMT8xNTk4
YouTube�https://youtu.be/hee5q19isxs?si=pWI3wT0rW9iCRqEJ
Apple Podcast�https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/across-the-meadows/id1813109099?i=1000706940641

Dear CLAREC friends,

📣 Join us for our final CLAREC Cinema Session + Conversation of Lent 2025 with Women's Sense of Belonging.

This time, we will screen Ken Loach’s iconic Kes (1969), with an introductory talk by Grace Batley, PhD student at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.

As always, after the screening, we will engage in a discussion based on the themes that emerge from the film.
Kes (Dir. Ken Loach, 1969)

🍿 When: Tuesday, 4 March 2025, 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
📍 Where: Faculty of Education, Room GS1

CLAREC Cinema Sessions + Conversations create a space for transnational and multilingual discussions inspired by film, where we alternate between British and Latin American films 📽️.

CLAREC is the Cambridge Latin American Research in Education Collective. We foster student-led initiatives at the Faculty of Education, focusing on themes relevant to Latin America and beyond.

“As universities face increasing neoliberal pressures, they must choose between passive complicity and transformative action. By embracing Paulo Freire’s concept of *inédito viável*—untested viability—and the framework of insurgent utopia, inspired by movements like the MST, universities can reclaim their potential as catalysts for radical societal transformation.”

CLAREC member Dr Alexandre Trindade writes in his op-ed for *Review of Democracy*: https://revdem.ceu.edu/2024/11/08/insurgent-utopia/.

Dr Alexandre da Trindade holds a PhD in Education from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology “Educational Policy and Teaching Work” (INCT-GESTRADO) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He is a member of the research group ¡DALE! (Decolonizing Latin America and its Spaces), affiliated with the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), and a member of the Friends of the Florestan Fernandes National School - ENFF - Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes

*The Review of Democracy*, or *RevDem*, is a dynamic online journal of the CEU Democracy Institute, dedicated to the reinvigoration, survival, and prosperity of democracies worldwide. Supported by the Open Society University Network, it provides real-time analysis, reflection, research, and opinion pieces at both national and supranational levels. *RevDem* welcomes contributions from scholars, activists, and practitioners. Learn more: https://revdem.ceu.edu/about/.

Hoje começaremos mais uma jornada de reflexões e diálogos em nosso CLAREC Grupo de Leitura, abordando um tema de extrema importância e urgência a partir do livro: “A REVOLTA DE 1936-1939 NA PALESTINA”, de Ghassan Kanafani.

Ao longo de mais de três anos de atividades, nosso grupo de leitura tem promovido espaços de diálogo para o compartilhamento de reflexões e sentimentos sobre as obras discutidas. Com esta nova leitura, nosso objetivo é proporcionar uma compreensão mais ampla do contexto que envolve a situação de genocídio vivida pelo povo palestino, explorando as implicações de um evento em que estiveram mais próximos de sua libertação.

O diálogo sobre esta nova leitura começará hoje, quarta-feira, 20 de novembro, das 19h00 às 20h30 (horário de Brasília), de forma online, via Zoom.

Se você tiver interesse em participar dessa nova leitura conosco, preencha este formulário - https://bit.ly/clarec_palestina - para receber o link de acesso. Este convite é aberto, então sinta-se à vontade para repassá-lo ao seu círculo de contatos. Em caso de dúvida, envie mensagem para

📌 Início: Quarta-feira, 20 de Novembro, 19:00 (horário de Brasília) - ONLINE & Gratuito
👉 Mais informações e registro: https://bit.ly/clarec_palestina

Agenda de encontros e capítulos:
- Quarta-feira, 20 de novembro, 2024: APRESENTAÇÃO & INTRODUÇÃO
- Quarta-feira, 27 de novembro, 2024: ANTECEDENTES: OS TRABALHADORES, OS CAMPONESES, OS INTELECTUAIS
- Quarta-feira, 04 de dezembro, 2024: A REVOLTA

Os encontros de diálogo terão convidados, a confirmar.

Mediação: Rawa Alsagheer, ativista política e coordenadora da Rede Samidoun de Solidariedade aos Prisioneiros Palestinos
Facilitação: Alexandre Da Trindade, Marco Túlio, Nina Lys, Jáfia Câmara, Aiuni Ogawa e Daniela Mussi.

Para adquirir o livro, acesse o site da Editora Sundermann ou da Editora Expressão Popular. Se tiver dificuldade em obter o livro, entre em contato conosco pelo e-mail [email protected] para solicitar o empréstimo de um exemplar.

O Grupo de Leitura é apoiado por CLAREC (https://clarec.org), Centre for Lebanese Studies (CLS), Universidade Emancipa, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network e Al Janiah.

On Friday, 15 November 2024, CLAREC invited the academic community to come together to process the results of the US elections. Students from Italy, China, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Peru engaged in dialogue to express their feelings, share concerns, and explore ways to build a supportive future for each other and society. We built community through dramatic activities, reenacting the 2018 protest in Puerto Rico, and dancing Bomba. What remained in the empty room were words expressing sorrow and a call for resistance. Our colleague Heidy Perez, Teaching Artist , gathered these words to create a collective poem that captured a moment of unity and true solidarity.

Participants: Thank you so much for sharing your concerns and coming together to support one another, finding the strength to turn our words into actions beyond the university. Special thanks to Hayana Freitas for sharing the video about Bomba dance and her experiences as a Spanish language teacher in Brazil.

Thanks to the organizers: Maria Fernanda Rodriguez for opening the door to this event and sharing insights about the Latinx vote in the US. Thank you Heidy Perez, Teaching Artist for sharing about the relationship of Puerto Rico and the US, and the mini-Bomba dance workshop. Thank you Alicia Garcia Montufar for supporting the event and the words of encouragement.

Photo credits: Thank you so much Juliana Nogueira and Mafer for the photos!

The recent results of the U.S. elections have left many of us grappling with feelings of sadness, fear and concern about our collective future. We invite you to join us in a space where we can come together to process these results and their far-reaching implications through meaningful dialogue and artistic expression. Bring whatever resonates with you, whether it’s music, poetry, dance, or any form of ideas or performance that allows you to share your thoughts and feelings. Together, we will also reflect on the vital role of Latinxs in these elections and the historical demands for justice in Puerto Rico. Let’s unite our voices and creativity to reflect on our path forward.

✊We will also recreate the 2018 protest in Puerto Rico.
>>>Please bring a pair of shoes and flags from countries affected by the U.S. election.