The book

What is A Decade of South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America?
A Decade of South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America is a publication to commemorate the joint work undertaken by SEGIB and the Ibero-American countries in South-South Cooperation since its beginning 2007. The result of this joint effort of systematization, recording and analysis of South-South Cooperation initiatives has been reflected in the successive editions of the Report on South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America, an international benchmark publication by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB). Therefore, the book commemorates both the joint cooperative efforts of the region as well as the first ten editions of the Report.
As this is a commemorative edition, its process of elaboration has lasted for over a year. During this period, the South-South Cooperation Area at SEGIB has attempted to capture a full decade of cooperation between the Ibero-American countries and SEGIB, and to give voice to the main actors of South-South Cooperation in the region, as well as to those people whose effort and vision were at the origin of this project, which has now entered its second decade. The book opens with a foreword by Rebeca Grynspan, the Ibero-American Secretary-General, and is organized into five chapters, with different content and structure, illustrated with a delicate design.
Results by chapter
Chapter 1: The South-South Cooperation Logbook
The Report on South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America represents the first regional initiative to register, systematize, analyse and promote knowledge on SSC in the global history of cooperation. Today, ten years after its first edition, it has become the logbook of SSC and triangular cooperation in Ibero-America, and it is a reference document for governments and cooperation officials around the world. In this chapter, the leading figures behind this initiative describe, in their own words, how it began and how it has contributed to the development and articulation of SSC both in Ibero-America and abroad.
Chapter 2: A Brief History of South-South Cooperation
A brief history of South-South Cooperation through its main landmarks and events, from the 1955 Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung (Indonesia), where the key aspects of a future ‘South discourse’ were established —the principle of non-interference, respect for national sovereignty and the promotion of reciprocal cooperation— up to the present day. The essay presented in this chapter allows us to dissect a complex process in order to better understand the past, to adequately interpret the present, and thus to envisage more clearly the future possibilities of this tool for development.
Chapter 3: A Decade of South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America
The information gathered in the ten annual editions of the Report on South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America makes it possible to construct a narrative of the evolution of SSC in which the region has participated over the last decade. The report presents the details of a technical and political process of multilateral construction, always agreed by consensus, where all the 22 Ibero-American countries take part. This chapter narrates the history of the Report, which is a self-standing initiative of SSC, only made possible as a result of joint efforts and dialogue.
Chapter 4: Ten years, ten case studies
This chapter presents ten initiatives that reflect the diversity of SSC projects undertaken by Ibero-American countries over the last decade. They include shared experiences in such varied fields as human rights, education, housing, energy, ecotourism, agriculture, library science, public administration, natural resources, and health. These ten case studies also illustrate different modes of institutional articulation and different cooperation formulae, not only among Ibero-American countries, but also with other developed and developing regions in Asia, Europe and Africa.
Chapter 5: Our Future
This chapter examines the challenges faced by SSC in the current scenario, where the Report on South-South Cooperation in Ibero-America and the work carried out by the region over this decade stand as a reference for the development of a new model of global cooperation.

The quote by the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, “Somos lo que hacemos para cambiar lo que somos” (We are what we do to change who we are), from his book El libro de los abrazos, is at the core of the mural created within the framework of the SEGIB campaign We Are Ibero-America: The Colours of Change.
The main challenges included in the chapter, which are analysed from the SSC perspective and resulting from reflection during the preparatory process of the Commemorative Conference on South-South Cooperation at BAPA, are the following ones:
- The finance of the Development Agenda and SSC as a tool for the construction of more universal and equitable tax systems, which would allow for a greater and better mobilization of domestic resources.
- Further progress towards a reduction of gender inequality, through the SSC, based on the exchange of successful and innovative experiences and initiatives in the field, as well as through the adoption of a cross-cutting gender approach in all SSC interventions undertaken by countries.
- The reduction of inequality and the work with populations whose rights have been seriously infringed, stressing the need to increase SSC aimed at bringing to an end infringement of the rights of Afro-descendant and indigenous populations, as well as of people with disabilities.
- The need of increasing SSC between local entities, that will allow to face the challenge of urbanization so that cities can achieve an equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.
- The challenge of increasing the number and the variety of actors, such as the civil society and the academia, that are involved in SSC initiatives, through multi-actor alliances.
Contact
If you have any questions or to request a copy of this publication, please contact informe.cooperacion@segib.org
Iberoamerican General Secretariat
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28001 Madrid
Spain
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Ibero-american program for the strengthening of South-South Cooperation
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