The Selection Committee to consider the first round of applications for ANCLAS small research grants has now met and approved funding in support of the following research projects:

• “Tracing Cuban convicts through the Global Spanish Pacific penal institutions” (Karo Moret-Miranda, School of History, ANU)

• “Democracy and Human Rights: The Fragility of Latin American Democracies Reconsidered” (Thiago Nascimiento da Silva, School of Politics and International Relations, ANU)

The 2023 ANCLAS Small Research Grants funding round supports research projects that examine socio-economic challenges in Latin America such as those triggered by current and historic political turmoil, environmental degradation, demographic change and demands for indigenous rights. The theme of socio-economic challenges follows the focus of earlier funding rounds on “transformation” and “response to crisis”.

Governments in Latin America have been particularly tested by the global economic downturn in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been compounded by rising crime, political instability, persistent inequality and ongoing environmental threats.

One of the main goals of ANCLAS is to fund innovative projects that will advance our understanding of the impact of these challenges, mitigation measures, and possible pathways towards more equitable futures, as well as initiatives that direct attention to culture, history, languages, and the arts, and their potential roles in transforming structural, institutional, and historical conditions.

ANCLAS wishes to thank all applicants and congratulate the authors of the selected projects. Applications for the second round of small research grants will be advertised shortly.