Brussels (BE), April 2008 - Networks of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other relevant cooperation institutions are invited to prepare applications for grant funding under the new programme on higher education cooperation for Latin America. Projects will include "Joint Partnerships" of European and Latin American institutions and "Structural Measures" that aim to reform education systems in Latin America.
A third component of the programme will fund "Accompanying Measures", i.e. horizontal activities to promote the programme's visibility and results of approved projects. Deadline for presentation of proposals is 16 June 2008.
The ALFA Programme1 was launched in 1994 with a Community contribution equivalent to €32.41 million, enabling 846 projects to be funded between 1994 and 1999. The second phase of the programme, ALFA II, whose Community contribution totalled €55.5 million, was adopted by the European Commission in 1998 for a six-year period (2000-2006) and financed a total of 225 projects.
ALFA III, the legal basis of which is Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union (EU), of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation, retains the original objective of the previous phases of the ALFA Programme, which is to promote higher education in Latin America (LA) as a means of contributing to economic and social development by improving the conditions in which the training of skilled human resources takes place.
However, as a result of experience with previous phases of the programme and the establishment of other European programmes for cooperation with third countries in the field of higher education and scientific research, ALFA III focuses on projects in the academic field that seek to have an impact on society and the economy, fostering regional integration, socioeconomic development, and social inclusion among the beneficiary countries.
