IIAS as a key institutional partner: Forging strong connections between Brazil, Africa, and Asia

The Center for Afro-Oriental Studies (CEAO) at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, and the IIAS have recently initiated a broad collaboration – involving academic mobility, research, teaching, and outreach – around Asian matters as well as Asian relations with other spaces, especially Africa and Latin America. Dedicated to African and Asian studies since its establishment in 1959, CEAO has also significantly contributed over the last decades to the Brazilian and international debates about race, ethnicity, gender, and their relation to enduring inequalities in the Global South. 

Collaborating with the IIAS is allowing us to broaden the scope of our international research networks, enhance our global visibility, especially in Asia, and also strengthen the general quality of our scholarship by gaining access to discussions about familiar matters conducted in different geographical spaces, which may help us to refine our theoretical and methodological perspectives. 

We are especially keen to receive IIAS fellows for short stays at CEAO within the Fellowship Program's new Global Asia orientation and increase our participation in the Africa-Asia Program. Over the years, the CEAO established a structured academic network encompassing universities in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau. We also have developed pointed collaborations with academic centres in South American and Caribbean countries with substantial African-descent populations, such as Colombia, Costa Rica, and Cuba. 

Connecting existing CEAO and IIAS networks along Latin America, Africa, and Asia will undoubtedly contribute to a whole set of opportunities for bilateral or collective projects, with potential impacts on global research agendas. Our strong focus on social outreach and the social relevance of scientific knowledge and modes of production also called our attention to the Humanities without Borders Program. Although the collaboration on this programme is still in its early stages, our meetings and discussions have already revealed strong affinities and synergies between CEAO and IIAS, paving the way for a dynamic and enriching exchange of experiences and perspectives.

In short, since we came in contact with IIAS in 2022, we understood that the Institute should become one of our more important strategic partners worldwide, given its vast reach, outstanding academic value, collaborative stance, and the complementarity of our international networks. Young as it is, this collaboration is already shaping CEAO’s institutional outlook for the next decade. In light of the looming budget cuts in higher education affecting the Netherlands and many other countries, we hope for a strategic, long-term vision that ensures the continued work of an institute dedicated to fostering such vital interregional collaborations.