Observatory on Latin America joins SDG Project

Mistra Urban Futures is expanding its international network, signing a collaboration agreement with the Observatory on Latin America (OLA).

‘We are very happy about this’, says Prof David Simon, Director of Mistra Urban Futures. ‘Primarily our work will focus on the studies of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, and the work of the OLA fits very well in our transdisciplinary and co-production approach to sustainable urban development’.

The OLA is a research center within the Studley Graduate Program of International Affairs at The New School, a renowned university in New York City. Founded in 2006, the OLA, works with many academic, civil society and governmental institutions in Latin America, with a focus on political reform, social inclusion and processes of urban change across the region.

Ileana Versace is an Architect and researcher at the Observatory on Latin America, based in Buenos Aires. Ileana and a research assistant will initially be working with David Simon and Sandra Valencia on Mistra Urban Futures’ comparative project ‘Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda: Comparative Urban Perspectives’.

‘The Observatory has developed several urban research programmes in Latin America that are multidisciplinary, transnational and networked. We are enthusiastic about becoming part of Mistra Urban Futures because we are interested in monitoring the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda in Buenos Aires’, explains Ileana Versace, who joined the team of researchers at the recent Annual Conference in Kisumu, Kenya.

By this agreement, Buenos Aires becomes one of the cities across the world participating in the Mistra Urban Futures project.

Furthermore, Argentina has just recently taken over the presidency of G-20, the forum for world leaders to discuss the most pressing global challenges. A wide range of meetings will be arranged in the country over the next 12 months, including the G-20 summit in late November 2018.

For more information, please contact Sandra Valencia, lead researcher on the SDG project, or Jan Riise, Manager for Engagement, phone +46 31 7724931

Photo Buenos Aires by Kevin Young on Unsplash

Photo Ileana Versace by Barry Ness