In 2024, the IUGS Executive Committee (EC) launched a clear strategic ambition: to strengthen IUGS engagement with the Global South, with a particular focus on Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
A first major step was the Ten Action Plan for Africa (TAP for Africa), which emerged from a high-level regional workshop held in Nairobi in 2024. The initiative demonstrated the value of a regionally focused approach, with three strategic research projects already receiving funding from UNESCO and IUGS through the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP).
Building on this experience, IUGS extended its regional engagement to Latin America and the Caribbean.
On 22–23 January 2026, the IUGS Executive Committee, in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Colombia (SGC), convened the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Symposium in Bogotá, Colombia, ahead of the 82nd IUGS Executive Committee Meeting, held on 26–27 January.
The two-day Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Symposium brought together around 40 leading scientists and senior representatives of geoscience institutions from across the region to explore regional priorities, shared challenges, and new opportunities for collaboration with the IUGS.
The discussions generated a rich set of recommendations that were synthesised into a final document, which served as the foundation for a LAC-IGCP call launched by UNESCO in May 2026.
Photograph by David AMADO PINTOR.
1) Susana VELÁSQUEZ FRANCO, 2) Katherine BOGGS, 3) Yanfei GU, 4) Yasukuni OKUBO, 5) O’Leary Fernando GONZÁLEZ MATOS, 6) Stalyn PAUCAR, 7) David COHEN, 8) Efrén Santiago ROMERO, 9) Angela Viviana RINCÓN, 10) Ludwig STROINK, 11) Yamirka ROJAS AGRAMONTE, 12) Wei Jun ZHAO, 13) Carlos A. ZULUAGA, 14) Eliana MEJÍA, 15) Germán PARDO TORRES, 16) Luz Angela VALENZUELA, 17) Edson RAMÍREZ, 18) Mario RUIZ, 19) Jiachien NIU, 20) Mu LANGFENG, 21) Maria Fernanda ALMANZA, 22) María Camila ARBOLEDA, 23) Juliana Andrea AVENDAÑO, 24) Gloria PRIETO, 25) Hassina MOURI, 26) Marta Lucía CALVACHE VELASCO, 27) Maria Rose PETRIZZO, 28) Juana VEGAS, 29) Paola Andrea ARIAS, 30) Maria Janeth SEPULVEDA OSPINA, 31) Elvaene Anne JAMES, 32) Asier HILARIO ORÚS, 33) Alfonsina TRIPALDI, 34) Braulio AGUILA, 35) Franck AUDEMARD, 36) Sergio BARRIENTOS, 37) Pablo FORTE, 38) Lisard TORRÓ I ABAT, 39) Roberto E. KIRCHHEIM, 40) Maria Aurora ARMIENTA HERNANDEZ, 41) Gerardo J. SOTO, 42) Óscar ÁLVAREZ, 43) María Isabel SANDOVAL GUTIÉRREZ, 44) Jorge GOMEZ TAPIAS, 45) Diego Felipe VALLEJO HINCAPIÉ, 46) Maria Luisa MONSALVE, 47) Carlos CARDONA, 48) Marko KOMAC, 49) Rómulo OSES PEDRAZA, 50) Harvey THORLEIFSON, 51) Andrés Hernando ZÁRATE RIVEROS, 52) Cristiano CHIESSI, 53) Jaime CELEDÓN VILCHES, 54) Guilherme FERREIRA DA SILVA, 55) Jolanta ČYŽIENĖ, and 56) Freddy TOVAR VERGARA.
Photograph by David AMADO PINTOR.
Official photograph of the IUGS Latin American Geoscience Workshop. 1) Susana VELÁSQUEZ FRANCO, 2) Katherine BOGGS, 3) Yanfei GU, 4) Yasukuni OKUBO, 5) O’Leary Fernando GONZÁLEZ MATOS, 6) Stalyn PAUCAR, 7) David COHEN, 8) Efrén Santiago ROMERO, 9) Angela Viviana RINCÓN, 10) Ludwig STROINK, 11) Yamirka ROJAS AGRAMONTE, 12) Wei Jun ZHAO, 13) Carlos A. ZULUAGA, 14) Eliana MEJÍA, 15) Germán PARDO TORRES, 16) Luz Angela VALENZUELA, 17) Edson RAMÍREZ, 18) Mario RUIZ, 19) Jiachien NIU, 20) Mu LANGFENG, 21) Maria Fernanda ALMANZA, 22) María Camila ARBOLEDA, 23) Juliana Andrea AVENDAÑO, 24) Gloria PRIETO, 25) Hassina MOURI, 26) Marta Lucía CALVACHE VELASCO, 27) Maria Rose PETRIZZO, 28) Juana VEGAS, 29) Paola Andrea ARIAS, 30) Maria Janeth SEPULVEDA OSPINA, 31) Elvaene Anne JAMES, 32) Asier HILARIO ORÚS, 33) Alfonsina TRIPALDI, 34) Braulio AGUILA, 35) Franck AUDEMARD, 36) Sergio BARRIENTOS, 37) Pablo FORTE, 38) Lisard TORRÓ I ABAT, 39) Roberto E. KIRCHHEIM, 40) Maria Aurora ARMIENTA HERNANDEZ, 41) Gerardo J. SOTO, 42) Óscar ÁLVAREZ, 43) María Isabel SANDOVAL GUTIÉRREZ, 44) Jorge GOMEZ TAPIAS, 45) Diego Felipe VALLEJO HINCAPIÉ, 46) Maria Luisa MONSALVE, 47) Carlos CARDONA, 48) Marko KOMAC, 49) Rómulo OSES PEDRAZA, 50) Harvey THORLEIFSON, 51) Andrés Hernando ZÁRATE RIVEROS, 52) Cristiano CHIESSI, 53) Jaime CELEDÓN VILCHES, 54) Guilherme FERREIRA DA SILVA, 55) Jolanta ČYŽIENĖ, and 56) Freddy TOVAR VERGARA.
Photograph by David AMADO PINTOR.
Video of the 82nd IUGS Executive Committee Meeting and the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Symposium, produced by the Communications Group of the Colombian Geological Survey.
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Building on the momentum generated by the Nairobi and Bogotá initiatives, IUGS will continue to advance its commitment to a more inclusive, regionally responsive, and globally connected Union, with a high-level Workshop in Indonesia in January 2027 extending this engagement to Southeast Asia and further strengthening collaboration across the global geoscience community.
Further updates will follow as preparations progress.
