LABMUNDO celebrates its 20th anniversary with seminar at IESP-UERJ
Last Friday, 28 August 2026, members, colleagues and friends of the World Political Analysis Laboratory gathered at our headquarters, the Institute of Social and Political Studies IESP-UERJ), to celebrate LABMUNDO’s two decades of activity. Throughout the day, the Olavo Brasil Room hosted the seminar The Collapse of Multilateralism: crises, reconfigurations and the role of the Geopolitical South, during which our team reflected on the profound crisis in contemporary geopolitics and the transformations undergone by international relations in the 21st century.
Following an opening address delivered by the Laboratory’s coordinator emeritus and founder, Prof. Carlos R. S. Milani, and by Prof. Enara Echart Muñoz, the event’s programme featured five panel discussions with presentations by researchers who have been part of our history. The panels featured Anna Carolina R. de Mello, Arthur Vargas Facini, Danielle Costa da Silva, Emanuel Semedo, Gustavo M. N. da Encarnação Lopes, Henrique Rabello de Carvalho, Janaína B. Pinto, Júlia Nascimento Santos, Leandro C. D. Conde, Magno Klein, Mariana Castro, Murilo Gomes Costa, Polianna de Almeida Portela, Renata Albuquerque Ribeiro and Sérgio Mecena Neto.
At the closing session, the coordinators of the Rio de Janeiro branch, Prof. Pablo Saturnino Braga and Prof. Rubens de S. Duarte, joined Prof. Milani to conclude the debate and reflect on key moments in LABMUNDO’s history. Amongst the audience who honoured the event with their presence, we would like to highlight the participation and contributions to the debate by Ambassador Gelson Fonseca Jr.. and Professors Ana Paula Tostes, Letícia Pinheiro, Lia Valls, Maria Regina Soares de Lima and Monica Hirst. At the close of the programme, the Laboratory team paid tribute to our founder by presenting him with an embroidered framed picture, symbolising the role of education in nurturing and sowing the seeds for a better world.
Once the discussions had ended, those present were able to celebrate LABMUNDO’s 20th anniversary at a cocktail party held in the Institute’s courtyard. The seminar ‘The Collapse of Multilateralism: crises, reconfigurations and the role of the Geopolitical South’ formed part of the programme for the IESP-UERJ Lecture Series 2026.2 and was funded by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
