But windows are different, like eyes, are meant to look out onto the world. Some windows are open, others closed; some are forever broken, others reflect bright lights, and like eyes, they invite in a more intimate way.
Latin American studies in Kazakhstan, at an average university, used to be quite unpopular with students, but the interest to this region is gradually gaining momentum here. With its charismatic culture and furious energy no one is immune to its charm. So am I. Enchanted, captivated and entranced to this region forever.
During the XXth century Kazakhstan was part of Soviet Union and all the political, economic and social relations were not directly linked with Latin American countries but through Moscow (it was obvious, as we used to be the colony of the Soviet Union), and all the goodies were mainly settled in Moscow, and Kazakhstan was left as a periphery even with no access to Latin American culture. I think culture has great importance; it is like the lifeblood of a vibrant society mostly expressed in traditions, history, literature and music that help us see the world through the eyes of others. We were deprived from those possibilities.
I should say that the bilateral relations never reached a high level for both of actors and were considered as peripheral for most of the years, but at the beginning of the 21st century the situation has changed drastically. Most Latin American countries considered Kazakhstan specifically not as a potential commercial partner but as a political and diplomatic one. After entering the third decade of independence, Kazakhstan started building itself as stable with a dynamically developing economy, and setting foreign policy priorities specifically with Latin American countries within Foreign Policy Concept of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the years of 2014-2020, and this new situation led to a mutual discovering.
Within this concept the priority was given to the development of trade, economic, investment and humanitarian ties and the promotion of common interests in the United Nations with North, Central and South America. At that moment, the Latin American region started taking interest on Kazakhstan especially in terms of its geopolitical position. Compared with other five Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan is the largest both in terms of geography and economy. It became a country full of opportunities for technologies, food industries and pharmacy for such countries as Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Chile, with the entrance of Latin American products into the Custom Union and the Common Economic Space. Within the Custom Union, Kazakhstan created attractive market and opened its windows for Latin American investors.
And even now after establishing the sovereignty and independence Kazakhstan as a postcolonial country still exercise significant influence of foreign powers role in the economic and political spheres like most Latin American countries.
Even though we don not have experts and analysts in Latin American region here in Kazakhstan, I was lucky enough to find a supervisor from Catholic University of Argentina who is specialized in social movements and published lots of work on revolutions in Latin American region, and he is working collaboratively with me to find necessary material for thesis and supervise my scientific outputs.
Despite a critical shortage of resources here, I always try to find ways to broaden my research horizons and shape the dynamics and trends in politics and economy of this region. Those who never lose their curiosity make great researchers.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay had all it would take to be a tremendous leader of the institution. Her vision, bold humility and intellectual vibrancy were deeply appreciated by the community of university affiliates, as shown by the mobilization of more than 700 Harvard faculty in support of her presidency.
Ojos cerrados! On my fifth day in Puerto Rico as part of the 2024 Harvard Puerto Rico Winter Institute (HPRWI), my peers and I went to a workshop at a small but mighty theater collective called Agua, Sol y Sereno.
After 100 years that Anthroposophic Medicine emerged in Switzerland and Germany with an innovative and thriving integrative perspective on health and disease approach, it is currently present worldwide. Latin America comprises a wide geographic area formed by countries and territories situated in North, Central and South America, which share many features, although each country has its own unique identity. Three main pathways can be identified in the history of Anthroposophic Medicine in Latin America. The first track happened in the beginning of the 1950s in Brazil and the 1970s in Argentina. The second track happened in Peru in the 1990s. The third track is related to the development of the IPMT cycles of training in the region after the year 2000. Main countries developing Anthroposophic Medicine are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay with relevant achievements in training, political and academic fields. CIMA (Ibero-American Coordination for Anthroposophic Medicine) forms the multidirectional rhythmic system connecting the different realities. In parallel to this development, the Pan American Health Organization increased actions in the field of traditional, integrative and complementary medicine in the region and the Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine Network for the Americas (Red MTyC de las Americas) was created. This network supports the Virtual Health Library on Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (VHL TCIM) and the Brazilian Academic Consortium on Integrative Health.
Anthroposophic Medicine in Latin America presents itself as a promising, vibrant and heterogeneous landscape, formed by impulses with different strengths, maturation time frames and cultural qualities with open windows for the future.
11Reynel M, Villegas Y, Werthmann P, Kiene H, Kienle G. Longterm survival of a patient with an inoperable thymic neuroendocrine tumor stage IIIa under sole treatment with Viscum album extract. A CARE compliant clinical case report. Medicine 2020;99(5):e18990. DOI: [Crossref]
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