12th Latin American Conference on Inclusive Social Development

From July 9 to 13, 2025, the 12th Latin American Conference of our network took place in Colombia. The conference was prepared by the Latin American Working Group of the Section and inspired by the International Conference and founding of the Section in October 2024. The conference focused on the question of inclusive community building, and in particular the role of family members and self-advocates in this process. More than 100 staff members, self-advocates, and family members from organizations and initiatives in Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay participated.

Jan Göschel from the section’s leadership team participated in the conference and contributed a presentation on the design of “third spaces” – spaces that are neither private nor public, but create an intermediate space for encounters that enables community building.

The Finca La Esperanza in the coffee region of Quindío, a high plateau west of the Andes, offered a rich spectrum of such “third spaces,” allowing community building to be practiced and lived out in real life. And for those who found the encounters a bit too much, there was always a green corner to retreat to, perhaps with a cup of Colombian coffee. At the end of the conference, colleagues from Peru extended an invitation to the next Latin American conference, which is to take place in about three years.