Last Thursday, July 24th and Friday, July 25th, the event was held at the headquarters of the Universidad Austral In Buenos Aires, the second Technical Support Workshop for Internationalization Strategies of BiodiverCities, organized by Center for International Strategies of Governments and Organizations (CIG) of the Universidad Austral together with CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and BiodiverCities Network.
This workshop marked the culmination of a series of activities developed within the framework of the first strategic collaboration between the CIG and the BiodiverCities Network, aimed at strengthening the capacities of local governments in Latin America in the design and implementation of internationalization strategiesThe initiative combined a virtual course —held between May and June— with two face-to-face technical training sessions in Bogotá and Buenos Aires, aimed at 10 cities in the region.
In this final stage, technical teams and representatives from five cities participated: Porto Alegre (Brazil), Zárate and Mar Chiquita (Buenos Aires Province), San Justo (Santa Fe), and Río Grande (Tierra del Fuego). During the sessions, the teams worked practically on defining objectives, assessing capacities, identifying priority areas, designing institutional frameworks, and developing monitoring tools and frameworks for their international outreach strategies.
The opening of the workshop included the participation of Alejo RamírezThe Director of the BiodiverCities Network, who emphasized the importance of networking as a tool for strengthening local capacities, as demonstrated by this collaboration between CAF and the CIG. On behalf of CAF, Sebastian Putzoli -The Principal Executive at CAF Argentina- highlighted the key role of subnational governments, often on the front line of response to development challenges, while Soledad Gómez -Executive of the Knowledge Management of CAF- reaffirmed CAF's commitment to strengthening capacities as a fundamental pillar to advance in sustainable and inclusive development.
The workshop was led by Francisco Resnicoff, Senior Fellow of the CIG, and Emiliano Martinez RoyanoThe CIG's Executive Director guided the process with a participatory methodology adapted to the contexts of each city. In addition to the technical exercises, the exchange of experiences among the participating local governments was promoted, with the aim of generating collective learning and collaborative networks.
This second workshop concludes the first cycle of joint work between the CIG and the BiodiverCities Network, which It reached 35 cities in 9 countries through the virtual course, and provided specialized technical support to 10 selected cities through face-to-face workshops in Colombia and Argentina.
This strategic alliance between the CIG of the Universidad AustralCAF and the BiodiverCities Network reaffirm the shared commitment to strengthening the capacities of subnational governments for active international integration, with a focus on sustainable urban development, biodiversity as a strategic asset and cooperation as a tool to transform the territory.
