Redes Regionales de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil en América Latina
	Regional Networks of Civil Society Organizations in Latin America
Redes Regionais de Organizações da Sociedade Civil na América Latina

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Executive Summary
Latin America is in the midst of major political, social, and institutional transformations associated with democratization and accelerated globalization. Regional networks of civil society organizations (CSO) in Latin America and the Caribbean are emerging as key actors on this process. The role of these regional networks, particularly their growing linkages to similar North American and European networks, highlight the importance of a phenomenon that although little understood, clearly is very relevant for the future of civil society in the region.

To probe the significance of this phenomenon, we have formed a working group involving researchers interested in analyzing the linkages established by regional networks in Latin America with other international networks.  The project  “Regional Networks of Civil Society Organizations in Latin America,” supported by The Ford Foundation, and directed by Roberto Patricio Korzeniewicz (University of Maryland, USA) and William C. Smith (University of Miami, USA), includes research teams based in different countries of the region:
 

• Laura Sarvide Alvarez Icaza and Gabriela Sánchez, (Espiral, S.C., México)
• Leilah Landim (Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Átila Roque (Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicos, Brazil), and Fátima Mello (Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional, Brazil)
• Paula Antezana Rimassa and Cecilia Dobles Trejos (Centro para la Participación Organizada, Fundación Arias para la Paz y el Progreso Humano,  Costa Rica)
• Gonzalo de la Maza and Carlos Ochsenius (Fundación para la Superación de la Pobreza, Chile)
• Mercedes Botto and Gabriela Rodríguez López (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Argentina)

In addition to research papers, the project has created a public database available electronically to those CSOs and researchers interested in obtaining a list of contacts and in learning about the characteristics, activities, composition, and objectives of networks active in the region. This database will help promote the development of closer ties among CSOs in the region, and also further support their role as key actors in the current transformations of the region.

© Proyecto Redes de la Sociedad Civil - University of Maryland/ University of Miami

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