The idea of implementing the CES-AL, Centro de Estudos Sociais América Latina (Center for Social Studies Latin America), was born from an useful debate among researchers from CES-Coimbra (Portugal), UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais – Brazil), and from other localities from Brazil and Latin America.

One of the core objectives of this Studying Center is to establish a dialogue with different knowledge through the integration of many researches with interdisciplinary and internationalized formation. The main challenge for these scholars consist on developing theoretic-methodological, as well as analytical and epistemological patterns compatible with the socio-cultural, economic, and political diversity of Latin America. For achieving this, the Center aims at establishing dynamics of collaboration and joint initiatives with other research centers from Latin America and Africa, favoring both the dialogue and the mutual collaboration among those researchers.

The CES-AL will initiate its´ activities by some thematic areas which production may have some sort of impact both in Brazilian and Latin American social realities. The effort will consist on giving the necessary counterpart so the initiatives factually occur in an interchangeable format and institutional collaboration. A great challenge for CES-AL will be to continue the initial vocation of some initiatives from CES-Coimbra, such as the Universidade Popular dos Movimentos Sociais (Popular Univerisity of the Social Movements), and the Observatório da Justiça (The Justice Observatory), so to overcome the limits of academy and to dialogue with practices and knowledge promoted in other environments.