CELAC–Africa Forum: education, science and polycentric cooperation

In a context of increasing fragmentation of the international order and questioning of traditional multilateral architectures, the CELAC-Africa High-Level Forum (Bogotá, March 18–21, 2026), promoted by the Vice-Presidency of Colombia, is positioned as a strategic space for the articulation of new interregional dynamics.

Invited by the Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez, Obreal will actively participate in the different discussion spaces of the Forum and will contribute to the articulation of its main areas of work. It will also act, together with other international and multilateral organizations, as an observer in the high-level sessions that will bring together heads of state and senior representatives of the governments of CELAC and Africa.

In this framework, Obreal contributes to rethinking cooperation and development, promoting the reconfiguration of political architectures aimed at generating impact in the formulation of public policies and in the implementation of concrete transformations, in a context in which international cooperation requires renewed approaches and more diversified strategic alliances.

A polycentric approach to international cooperation

Since 2020, through the Interregional Dialogue on Education and Development, Obreal has been promoting a polycentric approach to international cooperation. This approach recognizes the emergence of multiple poles of knowledge, innovation and institutional capacity, and proposes more balanced forms of cooperation, based on co-creation and joint capacity building. For Obreal, as an organisation based in Barcelona and with a European vocation, this framework offers a concrete way to strengthen strategic partnerships with Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as with other regions, in an increasingly competitive global environment, in line with the European Union’s priorities in terms of international partnerships, including initiatives such as Global Gateway and the Team Europe approach, aimed at promoting sustainable investments, connectivity and structured cooperation between regions.

In this context, education, science and innovation are consolidated as key vectors not only of development, but also of the strategic autonomy and resilience of regional systems. The initiatives promoted – such as the creation of a focal point of the African Association of Universities in Colombia or the development of mobility programmes for Colombian researchers and scientists – are part of a strategy aimed at institutionalising interregional cooperation. These actions are part of the continuity of the agreements reached between the African Union and the Government of Colombia at the Third Interregional Dialogue held in Bogotá in November 2025, and aim at the construction of long-term collaboration platforms.

Consolidating structural links between Africa and Latin America

In parallel, Obreal accompanies the efforts of the Colombian university system, led by ASCUN, and the Association of African Universities (AAU), to consolidate structural links between higher education institutions in both regions. The meetings planned between the Secretary General of the AAU, Olusola Oyewole, and the Executive Director of ASCUN, Óscar Domínguez, together with rectors, seek to move towards a shared agenda in training, research and innovation with systemic impact.

Likewise, within the framework of the Forum, Obreal will hold high-level meetings with the Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez, and with the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Yesenia Olaya, as well as with government representatives of CELAC countries and Africa. These spaces will make it possible to advance in the realization of initiatives and contribute to the alignment of priorities in terms of interregional cooperation.

The Bogotá Forum is also projected as a key stage in the preparation of the Fourth Interregional Dialogue on Education and Development, which will be held in Cairo in December 2026. This continuous process of articulation between Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean – with the participation of Europe and other actors – reinforces the construction of a structured and results-oriented space for dialogue.