About CALACS

The Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) was founded in 1969 with the following purposes in mind:

  • To facilitate networking and information exchange among persons, in Canada and abroad, engaged in teaching and research on Latin America and the Caribbean;
  • To foster especially within Canadian universities, colleges, and other centres of higher education, the expansion of information on and interest in Latin America and the Caribbean; and
  • To represent the academic and professional interests of Canadian Latin Americanists.

The CALACS Congress is held every year. The association also sponsors thematic workshops and events with other Canadian area studies associations. We are proud to support a widely respected interdisciplinary periodical, the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, which has published continuously since 1976. The Association awards a prize for the outstanding dissertation on Latin America and the Caribbean done at a Canadian university.

Vision

CALACS is a diverse and vibrant Canadian based international scholarly organization that promotes disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and teaching. The Association disseminates and mobilizes knowledge of Latin America and the Caribbean and their Diasporas through networks and partnerships in Canada and abroad.

CALACS is a significant source of expertise to scholars, researchers, NGOs, policy makers, educators, and private sector organizations with an interest in Latin American and Caribbean countries and peoples.

Through its activities CALACS contributes to the understanding of the cultural, political, social, and economic experiences of Latin American and Caribbean peoples.

 

Mission

CALACS fosters the ongoing development of a dynamic intellectual community through a variety of events, publications, and communications media. It supports research and teaching and provides the infrastructure and capacity necessary to facilitate knowledge mobilization and engagement strategies.

The Association promotes the collective professional interests of its diverse membership. CALACS encourages and advocates for active Latin and American and Caribbean educational programming across Canada.

CALACS reaches out to and establishes partnerships with Latin American and Caribbean communities, NGOs, research institutions, and international academics. In addition, the Association works to inform policy makers, and public and private sector organizations through its events, publications, communications media, and virtual resources.