Focus on Latin America: Finland's priorities in EU-CELAC Research & Innovation cooperation -webinar

The European Union's interest in cooperation with Latin America has grown in recent years, and in September 2025, the EU-CELAC Ministerial Meeting of Research and Innovation approved a new joint agenda to advance bi-regional collaboration

Under the New Agenda for EU–CELAC Cooperation on Research and Innovation, three working groups were established to promote common priorities in the following strategic areas of cooperation: 
1. Climate change, environmental sustainability and energy transition,
2. Health, and 
3. Artificial intelligence in science.

The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy have jointly appointed expert representatives from Finnish universities and research institutes to these working groups. The first task of the working groups is to rapidly, during February-March 2026, prepare 18-month action plans to implement the agreed priorities. It is expected that these working groups will be able to influence the future actions and funding priorities of the EU Commission. The aim of the webinar is to exchange information and facilitate the contributions of the wider Finnish research community to Finland’s priorities in the thematic working groups established to promote the new EU-CELAC research and innovation agenda. 

More information: New Agenda for EU–CELAC Cooperation on Research and Innovation (link).

PROGRAMME

• Opening: EU-CELAC Strategic R&I Cooperation framework and Finland’s participation, Tiina Vihma-Purovaara, Senior Ministerial Advisor, Ministry of Education and Culture
• Presentations of the EU-CELAC R&I working groups: Thematic priorities and national information needs 
  • Artificial intelligence in science
  • Health
  • Climate change, Environmental Sustainability and Energy Transition
• Discussion on the Finnish research community’s priorities and needs in the strategic areas

Since 2018, the Ministry of Education and Culture has had a Counsellor of Higher Education and Science focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as part of the Team Finland Knowledge network (TFK-LAC). Read more about the network: Team Finland Knowledge network - OKM - Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland (link) and follow the work TFK-artikkelit - OKM - Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö (link).