Secretaria de Relações Internacionais | Office of International Relations

Between 17 and 22 February, UFSC is hosting the fourth edition of the Summer School of the Asociación de Universidades Grupo Montevideo (AUGM)’s Academic Committee of Cooperative and Associative Processes (PROCOAS).

The opening ceremony took place at the UFSC School of Agricultural Sciences (CCA), with the participation of Professor Diogo Robl – Director of International Relations (SINTER/UFSC), Professor Pedro Manique Barreto – Prorector for Student Affairs (PRAE/UFSC, Professor César Damian – Vice Director of the School of Agricultural Sciences (CCA/UFSC), Professor Arcângelo Loss – Coordinator of PROCOAS-AUGM, and Professor Oscar Rover – Coordinator of the 2020 PROCOAS Summer School.

The Asociación de Universidades Grupo Montevideo (AUGM) brings together 39 public universities from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The PROCOAS Committee is the technical academic group assigned to approach and promote, with multi- and interdisciplinary focus, the topics of cooperation, association and solidarity economy. In this space, the Summer Schools are organized in order to reinforce the social actions and research of the AUGM network with focus on cooperative and associative processes.

This year, the title of the Summer School is “Cooperative and Associative Processes in Rural Development Dynamics”. Along six days, the event intends to favor spaces to present and share research results and experiences related to the topic in the different countries of origin of the participants, as well as to present several experiences developed in the state. For this reason, there will be lectures, round tables and field visits in different municipalities of the State of Santa Catarina. Participating in this year’s Summer School, there are 40 undergraduate and graduate students from 23 public universities located in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay, as well as 5 professors from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

The Family Farming Commercialization Laboratory (LACAF), together with the Agricultural Multifunctionality and Territory Studies Laboratory (LEMATE) and the Rural Education and Agrarian Reform Studies Laboratory (LECERA), are responsible for the organization of the event at UFSC. The Prorectorate for Outreach and Extension (PROEX), the Office of International Relations (SINTER) and the Graduate Program in Agroecosystems (PPGA) provide the required institutional support. The activity is accredited as a master’s/doctoral course in the PPGA and is supported by the Santa Catarina State Foundation for the Support of Research and Innovation (FAPESC).

In addition to the university students involved, the School intends to promote a space of discussion and exchange of experiences and knowledge among the institutions and civil society organizations which build cooperative and associative actions towards rural development in different municipalities of the State of Santa Catarina. In this sense, the activities will be developed in the following locations:

• School of Agricultural Sciences, at UFSC, Florianópolis;
• 25 de Maio Basic Education School, at the settlement of Vitória da Conquista, Fraiburgo; and
• Vale Europeu Rural Credit Cooperative with Solidary Interaction (CRESOL Vale Europeu), in Águas Mornas.

There will also be activities in the municipalities of Lages and Alfredo Wagner. In each location, exchange and educational activities will be offered to the local communities.

Source: 2020 PROCOAS Summer School Organization Team.