The First Congress of the Red ICA: Focus on Central America
Guest blogger: Angelica Soria, Masters in Migration Studies Program student, University of San Francisco:
The Red ICA, or Iniciativa Centroamérica academic network, was formed in late 2022, made up of individuals and organizations who are interested in Central American research efforts. As described by the network’s website, “It is a collaborative network that seeks to promote an innovative research agenda on Central America, characterized by a multidisciplinary, historical, comparative, and with a political economy approach.” At the time of its creation, the network consisted of 15 representatives from universities and organizations from El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Spain, Norway, Mexico, and the United States. The network held its first conference in Córdoba, Spain May 3 -5, where they announced that the network now has about 30 members and is steadily growing. During the three-day conference, the network worked on these main points: the governance of the Red ICA, the function of or plan of action for the network, and the major research projects for the next year.
What was emphasized throughout the talks of how the network would be governed, is that this was not a place for hierarchical structures. One of the Red ICA’s founding members had said that this network would work “horizontally” and that all decisions should be made through all members of the network, aside from the few positions put in place to help guide the network. Following that, the question of whether the Red ICA stood under an institution, like the Universidad Loyola Andalucía where the conference had taken place. If the network was under an institution, it would ensure higher representation and financial support; however, if the network was independent then it would give the members more liberty in supporting certain movements and making statements the university might not agree with. By the end of the week, this question was not decided, and the network will first try to run on the funds produced by members and later, if needed, changes would be made. Another larger topic within this section of the conference was the admission of new members to the Red ICA, particularly whether individuals would be given membership as individuals or representatives of their institution. As of now, the answer is that members could be both representatives of a university or organization or they could be independent. The main takeaway from the established governing policies of the Red ICA is that communication among members is of upmost importance, that is the way decisions will be made in the future.
The primary function established at the conference was a commitment that the network wants Central America to know it is an organization that will provide help and academic scholarship. Some projects proposed during the conference were “working papers” presented at every meeting, specialty classes, and courses at least once a year on Central American migration, and at least 2 webinars with speakers every year. The “working paper” would be a short academic essay reporting on something of importance to Central America that members would present to the network. This does not limit other papers that members could publish to the Red ICA website when they finish them. The idea of “working papers” is merely the minimum of research being produced out of the network. The first specialty course program by the Red ICA was held in two sessions earlier this year. They focused on capitalism and the political economy of Central America in the first module and the history of Central America and how it has changed over the 21st century in module 2. The network was also able to check off their first webinar of the year during this conference. On May 4, the Red ICA held an international public meeting with scholars and professionals from all over the world to analyze the relations between the European Union and Central America. The network plans to hold a second webinar during the fall of this year. These are a few of the ways in which the Red ICA hopes to increase awareness and education on the crisis in Central America.
The purpose of the network is to produce projects that highlight the problems Central America is suffering through in an effort to contribute to generating visibility of the region in international political agendas. The two main project topics the organization is working on for the next year will revolve around Central American transnationalism as well as elites within Central America and their impact on the economy. The first project on transnationalism will evaluate how remittances have affected the economy within specific countries in Central America and how the culture has shifted since migrants are returning from host-countries. The second topic will highlight how capitalism and the elites of Central America impact the work towards the green transition. Both topics will produce comparative papers among certain Central American countries and will include interactive maps to visually show the impacts. While discussing these topics, members acknowledge that locals should be included in works through graduate student research, activist organizations, and journalists. By including locals in these projects, the network gives a platform for their requests and demands to be heard. The hope of the Red ICA is to produce these two papers within the next year, and the current step is to generate more interest in the topics to increase involvement on the projects.
To find more on the Red ICA, please click here: https://fundacionetea.org/en/2022/09/26/the-academic-network-iniciativa-centroamerica-red-ica-launches-its-collaborative-program-of-research-and-knowledge-dissemination-on-central-america/
To hear more about the webinar on the relations between the European Union and Central America, please click here: https://www.uloyola.es/blog/investigacion/red-ica-y-el-instituto-de-desarrollo-de-la-universidad-loyola-analizan-la-union-europea-y-centroamerica-en-el-marco-de-la-cumbre-ue-celac
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