During the week in which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its SOFI 2025 report, announcing that Brazil had been removed from the Hunger Map and that hunger had decreased in Latin America, Colansa held its first general assembly on July 30 to officially register the organization. After a three-year development and refinement process, Colansa became a legal entity in Brazil.
“This milestone of becoming a legally registered organization is significant for continuing our work, which is so innovative. It also strengthens us in the face of the challenges we face, since we deal with the region’s major interests on a daily basis,” said executive coordinator Elisa Mendonça.
During the meeting, lawyer Francisca Guerreiro presented Colansa’s bylaws and governance structure, which establishes a General Assembly > Advisory, Deliberative, and Fiscal Councils > Executive Board.
Camila Córvalan (INTA-Chile), from the Deliberative Council, expressed how proud she was to be part of this moment: “It is a beautiful moment, one of pride and joy to be here, formally establishing this community. Colansa is about collaboration. It is about our region. It is about bringing together research, advocacy, and generating changes that promote better diets and better nutrition for all. And our region faces several challenges.“
Alejandro Calvillo (El Poder del Consumidor) also spoke about the recognition of the work done.
”The work done at the national level and the horizontal collaboration between organizations, academia, United Nations agencies, and even legislators have allowed Latin America to advance policies that have become a global benchmark. We have knowledge and experience in the region that needs to be strengthened and leveraged. Experience in building effective alliances with tangible results, with expertise in developing campaign strategies. Experience in confronting corporate interference and responding to its attacks against our organizations and also against our citizens.”
Members can access the full recording of the assembly in the restricted area of the website.
