The classism is the white elephant in our interactions with other people. Often, this form of discrimination is hidden in social structures and manifests itself in everyday life. Recognizing and revealing classism in our environment enables us to questioning our own attitudes and prejudices, as well as understanding how it affects people in a multiplicity of ways.

Want to research classism to understand its scope and work towards a more just society?

Using different methodologies of participatory research, students will inquire about attitudes, perceptions, relationships or practices related to classism in order to design participatory and collaborative strategies that will strengthen social cohesion and solidarity.

Participants will learn to:

1. Apply appropriately methodologies of participatory action research.
2. Use strategies to cooperate and resolve tensions arising from collective action.
3. Identify and critically analyze attitudes, perceptions, relationships or practices that promote or mitigate classism.

This challenge is aimed at:

Students of any discipline, from master's degree or undergraduate, of fifth semester or higher. Each team must be made up of five students of legal age and have a university professor to lead the team throughout the challenge.

The challenge

It is divided into five phases that guide the teams in designing and implementing a participatory research in their immediate environment to identify and critically analyze attitudes, perceptions, relationships or practices that promote or mitigate classism. Each team will work from collective way and with the people who are part of the environment where the research is carried out during the five phases:

1. In the first In this phase, the teams will choose the environment where they intend to conduct the participatory action research.
2. In the second, The participants will discuss with the people in their chosen environment whether and to what extent they wish to participate.
3. In the third, The teams will define, together with the people in the chosen environment, the research question and the methods they will use to solve it.
4. In the fourth, will conduct the investigation.
5. In the fifth phase, the teams synthesize and consolidate the entire learning process into two deliverables.

During the fifth phase, there will be a face-to-face meeting of all the teams at the Universidad de los Andes on the following dates November 1 and 2. In this space, the teams will share their experiences during the development of the challenge and will receive feedback from expert teachers and other participants. On November 2nd each team will make a final presentation to a panel of jurors and to the other teams.

There will be virtual master classes on methodologies and principles of participatory action research and on concepts and issues related to classism by university professors.

Financing

In this edition of the TREES Challenge: Revealing Classisms, we will select about 20 teams. Each selected team will receive $200,000 COP to support expenses directly related to the conduct of participatory research.

We will grant scholarships for teams made up of students who study and reside in cities outside of Cundinamarca and who have developed their research in a timely manner, meeting the established dates and requirements for each phase. This scholarship covers the housing, the food, the local transportation and the tickets round trip to attend the presential meeting the November 1 and 2 at the Universidad de los Andes.

Application process

The application process will be open between May 13 and June 20, 2025. The friday, july 4 we will announce the teams selected to take part in the challenge.

Teams that meet the requirements and complete all activities in the process will receive a certificate of participation issued by the Universidad de los Andes Continuing Education Department.

To apply for the challenge, the teams already formed must fill out the Application Form, attach the Proposal for mentoring mentors and the Letter of motivation.

The teams will be evaluated by a panel of jurors from the TREES initiative, according to the evaluation criteria of the Proposal of Accompaniment and the Letter of Motivation.

Commitments and responsibilities

Teams selected to participate in the challenge must sign and complete the Commitment Agreement. Students must have an average of two hours per week for the development of the research.

Intellectual Property

The persons participating in the challenge and the participatory research will be co-authors or co-owners of the documents, presentations, conclusions and deliverables they produce. The TREES team will offer support in the disclosure of some of these and will give visibility to the authors who participated in their creation.

As indicated in the Engagement Agreement, individuals participating in the challenge and participatory research must provide permission for use and dissemination to the Ford Foundation and Universidad de los Andes.

---

Please refer to the general guidelines for preparing the student team's motivation letter and the mentor teacher's support plan, which you must upload in PDF format in the corresponding sections: GeneralGuidelines.pdf

If you have any additional questions, please please do not hesitate to contact us by mail at [email protected]

Registrations are now open for the third edition of the Complexity Global School (CGS). As last year, the school will be in the Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes), in Bogota, Colombia. However, for the first time, people from any country will be able to apply. Approximately 60 students will be selected to participate in the school, which will be from July 28 to August 8, 2025. Thanks to the support of the Omidyar Network and the Ford Foundation, The school will be completely free for all admitted students, including tuition, room, board and a transportation stipend. The deadline for apply to is the March 2, 2025. 

“We are looking for courageous thinkers who want to learn new methods while helping us seek new paradigms for understanding political, economic and social life.”, notes Will Tracy, organizer of the event and vice-president of the Santa Fe Institute. “Our search for new paradigms is deeply interdisciplinary. We are interested in early-career academics in the social and natural sciences, as well as intellectually motivated professionals from government, civil society and the private sector.” 

The CGS includes a series of lectures that introduce the fundamental mechanisms and models of complex systems and their relationship to political economies. Major topics include network analysis, computational social science, applied scaling theory, emergent engineering, and digital humanities. Students will learn to apply these topics, methods and models to diverse phenomena such as inequality, climate change, belief dynamics, technological disruption in social systems, federalism and the future of work. 

Juan Camilo Cardenas, professor of the Faculty of Economics at Uniandes and one of the leaders of the initiative. TREES, highlights the benefits of applying a complex systems approach to the study of inequalities: “Complexity helps us to better understand inequalities because it allows us to see how differences between individuals and groups generate social tensions, especially when those inequalities are perceived as unfair or negative. In complex systems, patterns emerge that are not explained just by looking at individual decisions, but by understanding how people interact with each other. This makes some inequalities difficult to predict with traditional methods. By bringing together students from different countries and disciplines, we can find new ways to understand how diversity, inequalities and differences are related, and thus find more effective solutions to inequalities that harm society and the planet.” 

The CGS includes on-site and remote components. The component on-site consists of a 12-day intensive program which focuses on interaction between teachers and students, as well as the formation of project groups. During the remote component - from August to November - students will collaborate virtually with their groups to finalize projects. 

“The most valuable thing has been interacting with other people, especially learning to overcome language barriers - not only language barriers, but also academic language barriers.” states Ebba Mark, D. student in social and economic inequality at the University of California, Berkeley. Oxford University, who attended the CGS 2024. These interactions also help to reframe and deepen the research questions. “Every time you bring up a topic that interests you, everyone challenges you to define it a little better and to question the assumptions that underlie the way you plan to research it.” 

Qixin Lin, student of computational social sciences at the University of Chicago, The company expected to address questions about social inequalities, labor and employment during the CGS 2024. “After studying here, I learned that sociology will not be the only approach I will use to tackle the problem,” points out. “Now I can also work with physicists and economists, and use other approaches to find solutions.” 

Patricio Cruz and Celis Peniche, student of the CGS 2024 and fifth year doctoral student at the University of California, Davis, investigates how North American religious ideas have spread through cultural transmission in Latin America. “I initially came here with the idea of exploring questions related to how and why ideas travel through groups,” he says. Instead, he became involved in a project exploring why people undertake interdisciplinary research, despite the additional challenges of breaking disciplinary conventions. The members of his project group represented five countries and brought expertise in economics, physics, engineering, anthropology and mathematics, making the question self-referential, he says. “In some ways, we're trying to figure out what motivates us to do it, especially when it's so difficult and requires a lot of effort.” 

The first Complexity Global School was held simultaneously in India and South Africa in December 2023 and was open to students from South Asia and Africa, respectively. Participants from both venues - organized by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa - attended conferences and transcontinental online group projects. The second edition was held at Uniandes, Bogota, Colombia, in the summer of 2024, and was open to students from Latin America, Western Europe, the Caribbean, USA and Canada. The Complexity Global School is inspired by the Complex Systems Summer School from Santa Fe Institute, which has been in operation for more than 30 years and whose alumni have held prominent positions in academia, government and industry. Proof.

NOTE: The school will be conducted in English, so a good command of the language is essential.

Apply to Complexity Global School

We are looking for individuals, organizations, teams or collectives with interest in leading the creation of a space for cinema and one of literature for promoting new and better conversations about inequalities in our society. Its mission will be to design and structure these spaces from scratch, in an innovative way.

Planned activities will be, but are not limited to: 

• Design and structure a reading space and a film space that will include at least one meeting per month for three months, addressing issues related to inequalities. This design should define the target audience for both spaces and the reasons for choosing this audience.  
• Research and select materials (books and films) relevant to addressing inequalities. 
• Organize and coordinate regular sessions of both spaces. 
• Facilitate discussions and debates in face-to-face meetings, promoting an environment of open and respectful dialogue. This includes the search and selection of adequate spaces for the development of the activities. The costs associated with the implementation of the spaces should not be included in the economic proposal.  
• Implement strategies to actively engage participants in reading and film activities. 
• Design space assessment tools to identify changes in narratives and perspectives on inequalities over time. 

Products:  

• Systematization of methodologies and discussions during the spaces.  
• Design instruments, pedagogical guides or tools that other organizations or groups can use to create spaces for constructive deliberation on inequalities. 
• Written report. 

How to apply? 

Complete the following FORM, no later than May 26, 2024. 

Send questions to [email protected] with the Subject: CINEMA AND LITERATURE CONSULTANCY 

Important dates:  

Launching of the call for proposals	May 9, 2024
Closing of the call for applications	May 26, 2024
Notifications	June 17
Signing of contract	July 2024
Beginning of the cinema and literature area	September 2024
Delivery of products	January 2025

The classism is the white elephant in our interactions with other people. Often, this form of discrimination is hidden in social structures and manifests itself in everyday life. Recognizing and revealing classism in our environment enables us to questioning our own attitudes and prejudices, as well as understanding how it affects people in a multiplicity of ways.

Want to research classism to understand its scope and work towards a more just society?

Using certain methodologies of the participatory action research, students will inquire about attitudes, perceptions, relationships or practices. related to classism to design participatory and collaborative strategies that strengthen social cohesion and solidarity.

Participants will learn to:

1. Apply appropriately methodologies of participatory action research.
2. Use strategies to cooperate and resolve tensions arising from collective action.
3. Identify and critically analyze attitudes, perceptions, relationships or practices that promote or mitigate classism.

This challenge is aimed at:

Students of any discipline of master's degree or undergraduate from fifth semester or higher. Each team must be made up of five students of legal age and have a university professor to provide overall leadership throughout the challenge.

The challenge

It is divided into six phases that guide teams in designing and conducting participatory action research in their immediate environment to identify and critically analyze attitudes, perceptions, relationships or practices that promote or mitigate classism. Each team will work collectively and with the people who are part of the environment where the research is conducted. The six phases will work as follows:

• In the first, The teams will choose the setting in which they intend to conduct the participatory action research.
• In the second, The participants will discuss with the people in their chosen environment whether and to what extent they wish to participate.
• In the third, The teams will define, together with the people in the chosen environment, the research question and the methods they will use to solve it.
• In the fourth, The teams will do the research.
• In the fifth, The learning process will be synthesized and consolidated into three deliverables.
• The sixth, The last phase will be a face-to-face meeting with all the teams at the Universidad de los Andes on the following days. October 19 and 20. In this space, the teams will share their experiences during the development of the challenge and will receive feedback from the other participants. On October 20, each team will make a final presentation to a panel of judges and the other teams. All teams that obtain an average final score of more than 80/100 will win.

There will be six virtual master classes on participatory action research methodologies and principles and on concepts and issues related to classism by university professors.

Financing

In this edition of the TREES challenge: revealing classisms, If a team is selected, we will select the best six teams from all those who apply. Each team selected will receive $500,000 COP to cover expenses directly related to conducting the participatory action research. From these six teams, we will select the winning teams who will will receive $2,000,000 COP to cover expenses related to the continuation of the participatory action research process or to implement a concrete action to address classism, depending on its results and conclusions.

We will award two scholarships for teams made up of students from universities in Colombia who reside outside of Bogota. This scholarship covers lodging, food, local transportation and round-trip tickets to attend the face-to-face meeting on October 19 and 20 at the Universidad de los Andes.

Application process

1. The application process will be open between May 9 and June 5, 2024. The friday, june 21 we will announce the six teams selected to take part in the challenge.
2. In order to apply for the challenge, teams already formed must pre-register at Obertura.
3. Then, fill out the Application Form, attach the Mentor commitment letter and attach the Motivation letter. Instructions are available in Overture once pre-registration is completed.
4. The teams will be evaluated by a panel of jurors of the TREES initiative according to the evaluation criteria of the Motivation Letter, available in Overture.

Commitments and responsibilities

Teams selected to participate in the challenge must sign and complete the Commitment Agreement which is available in Overture. Students should have an average of two hours per week. 

Intellectual Property

The people participating in the challenge and participatory action research will be. co-authors or co-owners of the documents, presentations, conclusions and deliverables they produce. TREES team to provide outreach support of some of these and will give visibility to the authors who participated in their creation.

As stated in the Engagement Agreement, individuals participating in the challenge and participatory action research must provide permission for use and dissemination to the Ford Foundation and Universidad de los Andes.

If you have any additional questions, please please do not hesitate to contact us by mail at [email protected]

The TREES (Teaching and Researching Equitable Economics from the South) initiative, led by the Center for Economic Development Studies (CEDE) of the Universidad de los Andes, invites students enrolled in graduate programs in Economics and related disciplines, as well as those in the last semesters of their undergraduate studies, to apply for the TREES Scholarship for the Bogotá Summer School in Economics. These scholarships are for the course “Understanding Inequality: Theory, Evidence and Methodology”, offered by the Universidad de los Andes as part of the fifth edition of the Bogotá Summer School in Economics.

The course will be led by:

• Branko Milanovic - City University of New York, United States. 
• Mauricio De Rosa - Universidad de la República, Uruguay. 
• Facundo Alvaredo - London School of Economics, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit the course site here 

The scholarship winners will receive a 50% tuition support, the total amount of which is COP 2,733,000.  

Who can apply? 

• People who are enrolled in the last semesters of an undergraduate program in Economics or related areas and who meet the prerequisites of the course. 
• Persons who are enrolled in a graduate program in Economics or related areas and who meet the prerequisites of the course. 
• A significant portion of the scholarships will be allocated to students from institutions in Colombian cities other than Bogota and other developing countries. 

Notes:  

• The location (within Colombia) of the program is not exclusive. 
• Selected scholarship recipients must submit proof of payment of the supplemental scholarship amount by June 10, 2024. Failure to do so will result in rejection of the scholarship.  
• Those selected must meet the course requirements. 

How to apply? 

You must fill out the following FORM formerly May 5, 2024. 

For questions and clarifications write to: [email protected] with the subject “Inequalities -Bogotá Summer School”.

Important dates 

Opening of the call for proposals	April 23, 2024
Closing of the call for proposals	May 5, 2024
Notification of awards	May 17, 2024
Sending proof of payment of the complementary tuition fee.	June 10, 2024

Inclusive Economies for a Just and Sustainable Planet

Where: University of the Andes, Bogota, Colombia

When: June 5 to 8, 2024

What is the Summer Institute: “Inclusive economies for a Just and Sustainable planet”?

Transitioning towards a more just and sustainable planet requires new ways of thinking and doing research on economics and economic development policy. The Summer lnstitute in Inclusive Economies for a Just and Sustainable Planet will provide a space to advance interdisciplinary and policy-relevant research that supports more inclusive, equitable and sustainable economic systems.

The Summer lnstitute is a four-day program that will bring together 42 participants from the Global North and South to discuss new ways of thinking in economics and economic development policy. There will be in-depth presentations and discussions structured around the tour following themes:

1. Architecture and Inequality: Repurposing Housing, Infrastructure and Cities for Economic Inclusion.
2. Nurturing the Commons Place-based and Solidarity Approaches for a Just Planet.
3. Measuring inequality Economic Exclusion as a social determinant of health.
4. Feminist Approaches to Economics and the Care Economy.

The final day will provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on connections between the tapies discussed and to explore potential of collaborations in the future. By fostering dialogue and collaboration across disciplines and types of participants, we hope to contribute to the advancement of research and policy knowledge towards building more inclusive and sustainable economies worldwide.

The Summer lnstitute is co-organized by the TREES (Teaching and Researching Equitable Economics from the South) initiative at University of the Andes and the lnstitute for Inclusive Economies and Sustainable Livelihoods at the University of Toronto, with the support of the Centre for Global Social Policy's Care Economy in Context Global Partnership research project (University of Toronto) and the Sustainable Development Goals lnstitutional Strategic lnitiative (University of Toronto).

Who should apply?

The program is interdisciplinary, welcoming early career academics (assistant professors, postdocs, advanced Ph.D. students) from across the social sciences, as well as intellectually engaged practitioners from government, civil society, and industry interested in innovative thinking and policies to promote inclusive economies. For practitioners, we define “early career” as encompassing policymakers or professionals within the initial five years of their careers. Additionally, individuals transitioning from different professional backgrounds into the realm of inclusive economies will also be considered for participation in the institute.

While we will give priority to individuals based in the Americas (North, Central, South America and the Caribbean), participants from other parts of the world are encouraged to apply. The Summer Institute will be conducted in English and Spanish (you will need to be fluent in one of those languages to participate)..

Why should you apply?

This summer school offers a unique opportunity for learning at no cost to admitted participants, covering tuition, travel and accommodation in Bogota*. The Summer lnstitute in Inclusive Economies for a Just and Sustainable Planet will provide a space to:

• Advance interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives aimed at advancing more inclusive, equitable and sustainable economic systems.
• Cultivating and facilitating an international collaborative network that bring together academics from different disciplines as well as fostering a dialogue between senior researchers, early career scholars and practitioners interested in these topics.
• Facilitate interdisciplinary exchanges by bringing economists into conversation with scholars from other fields.
• Explore novel perspectives to research, measure and intervene in the dynamics of our diverse economies and envision pathways toward a more just and sustainable planet.

*We are offering 10 to 15 bursaries to cover travel and accommodation expenses in Bogotá for early-career scholars and practitioners traveling from other cities or countries to attend the institute.

Organizing committee and invited participants

Request for Letter of Inquiry

TREES (Teaching and Researching Equitable Economics from the South), an initiative of the Center for Studies on Economic Development (CEDE) at the Universidad de los Andes, funded by the Ford Foundation, is seeking research proposals to understand the causes and consequences of inequality, broadly defined. 

Projects led by Principal Investigators (PI) based in Latin America and the Caribbean will receive support of up to COP 80,000,000 each. 

We are open to research contemplating non-economic aspects of inequality. TREES welcomes empirical studies and contributions to the measurement, conceptualization, and historicization of inequality.  

Some non-comprehensive topics of reference may be:  

• Social segregation along income lines. 
• The economic and cultural implications of segregation.  
• Women in the economy of the global south. 
• Cultural, racial, gender diversity. 
• Environmental justice.  
• Social interactions: Migration. 
• Stereotypes and discrimination. 
• Inequality and segregation in the labor market. 
• Teaching inequality from different areas of knowledge.  
• Fiscal issues and inequality. 
• Formal and informal rules, norms, and inequality. 
• Citizens and the State. 
• Teaching to students with diverse characteristics 

TREES encourages rigorous and intellectually ambitious research and welcomes proposals from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both domestically and internationally. 

Application Details 

Phase 1: Letter of Inquiry.  

Fill out the Letter of Inquiry form to express interest in the TREES Research Grant Fund. No later than May 5, 2024, at 11:59 PM Bogotá Time (UTC -5). 

Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than April 20, 2024, to the below address: 

[email protected] 

Phase 2: Full proposals 

Invitations to submit full proposals will be sent no later than May 27, 2024 

Full proposal submissions (by invitation only). Principal Investigators invited to present full proposals will be notified no later than June 13, 2024.  

You will be notified that your submission has been received within one week of submission.  

Important notes:  

• Due to the high volume of submissions, we regretfully cannot guarantee feedback on all received proposals at any stage of the selection process. 
• To include all Latin America and the Caribbean, this call, the documents to be delivered, the deliverables, and the associated events will be in English. 
• Grants are awarded to the Host Institution with the explicit commitment that this institution offers appropriate conditions for the Principal Investigator and their team to direct the research and manage its funding for the project's duration. When the host institution commits to providing the appropriate conditions for the development of research and management of funds, it is expected that the administrative tasks or indirect costs will be a cost-share of the host institution. 
• The grant cannot be awarded directly to individuals.  
• Intellectual property shall remain with the PI, but they grant dissemination rights to Uniandes and the Ford Foundation. 
• Any relevant changes to the proposal or team shall be submitted to [email protected] and will be subject to approval. 

Evaluation Criteria and process

The selection committee comprises the three Principal Investigators of TREES. If the submitted topics warrant it, external evaluators may be invited. At each stage of the selection process, proposals undergo independent evaluations by a minimum of two Principal Investigators. Following this initial assessment by at least two Principal Investigators, proposals are discussed by the selection committee at large, and those that garner greater consensus are funded (fully or partially). 

Evaluation Criteria for the Research Proposal: 

Clarity and Relevance of the Research Problem (5 Points) 

• Problem Statement: The proposal must clearly articulate the research problem, ensuring it is directly connected to issues of inequality. 
• Question, Objectives, and Justification: The proposal should specify the research question, outline the objectives, and justify the significance of the research clearly and concisely. 
• Contribution's Relevance and Novelty: The proposal must highlight how the research contributes new insights or approaches to the field, emphasizing both relevance and innovation.

Methodological Design (5 Points) 

• Appropriateness of Methodology: The proposal should demonstrate that the chosen methodology is suitable and robust enough to address the research problem effectively. 
• Feasibility and Resources
• Realistic Proposal: The proposal must assess its feasibility, considering the resources available and the time frame. 
• Availability of Data and Resources: It should confirm that data and essential resources can be acquired within the proposed budget and time constraints. 

Outreach (3 Points) 

• Outreach Strategy: The proposal should indicate if there is a strategy for disseminating results or engaging with broader communities. 

Clarity in Writing (3 Points) 

• Writing Quality: The proposal must be written with clarity, making it accessible and understandable to reviewers, without sacrificing depth or complexity. 

Application Deadlines 

Letter of Inquiry open date	April 5, 2024
Letter of Inquiry close date	May 5, 2024
Invitation to submit a full proposal	May 27, 2024
Full proposal submission deadline	June 13, 2024
Grant Award and notifying successful applicants	July 13, 2024
Document Submission	August, 2024
Project Begins	September, 2024
Final Report	April, 2026

TREES (Teaching and Researching Equitable Economics from the South), an initiative of the Center for Studies on Economic Development (CEDE) at the Universidad de los Andes, funded by the Ford Foundation, is seeking research proposals to understand the causes and consequences of inequality, broadly defined. 

Projects led by Principal Investigators based in Latin America and the Caribbean will receive support of up to COP 60,000,000 each. 

We are open to research contemplating non-economic aspects of inequality. TREES welcomes empirical studies and contributions to the measurement, conceptualization, and historicization of inequality.  

Some topics of reference may be:  

• Social segregation along income lines. 
• The economic and cultural implications of segregation.  
• Women in the economy of the global south. 
• Cultural, racial, gender diversity. 
• Environmental justice.  
• Social interactions: Migration. 
• Stereotypes and discrimination. 
• Inequality and segregation in the labor market. 
• Teaching inequality from different areas of knowledge.  
• Fiscal issues and inequality. 
• Formal and informal rules, norms, and inequality. 
• Citizens and the State. 
• Teaching to students with diverse characteristics 

TREES encourages rigorous and intellectually ambitious research and welcomes proposals from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both domestically and internationally. 

Application Details 

Phase 1: Letter of Inquiry.  

Fill out the Letter of Inquiry form

to express interest in the TREES Research Grant Fund. No later than January 21, 2024, at 11:59 PM Bogotá Time (UTC -5) 

Questions may be sent by e-mail to the below address: 

[email protected] 

Phase 2: Full proposals 

Invitations to submit full proposals will be sent no later than February 2, 2024 

Full proposal submissions (by invitation only). PIs invited to present full proposals will be notified no later than March 1, 2024.  

You will be notified that your submission has been received within one week of submission.  

Notes:  

• To include all Latin America and the Caribbean, this call, the documents to be delivered, the deliverables, and the associated events will be in English. 

• Grants are awarded to the Host Institution with the explicit commitment that this institution offers appropriate conditions for the Principal Investigator and their team to direct the research and manage its funding for the project's duration. The grant cannot be awarded directly to individuals. 

• Intellectual property shall remain with the PIs, but they grant dissemination rights to Uniandes and the Ford Foundation. 

• Any relevant changes to the proposal or team shall be submitted to [email protected] and will be subject to approval.