Representation was made by the LACC Director, Ambassador Gillian Bristol, at the bi-regional Permanent Academic Forum of Rectors from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, at the November 2022 meetings held in Bucharest, Romania. There, Ambassador Bristol noted the absence of broad Caribbean participation and also that there were no women at the helm of this bi-regional organisation. Her observations, held an innate appeal for greater inclusivity and gender balance. This was acknowledged in the ensuing discussion by the leadership which recognised these as two shortcomings of the Forum deserving of immediate attention.

By January 2023, at its first ordinary meeting, the Academic Council of the Forum unanimously ratified two important decisions of its General Assembly held previously in November in Bucharest: the creation of a third Vice-Presidency with a Caribbean portfolio and the appointment of Ambassador Bristol to serve as the first woman Vice-President.

The newly elected President of the FAP, Dr. Rafael Rosell Aiquel, Rector of the University of Alba, Chile, noted that the Vice-Presidency for the Caribbean was created, in addition to the existing Vice-Presidencies for Latin America and Europe to ensure “the presence and participation of the Caribbean region under the same conditions and with the same rights as Latin America and Europe seemed to us to be of great importance. From the Latin American academic perspective, greater integration with the Caribbean is a high priority. Our universities should have a closer relationship, exchanges of students and professors in order to undertake common projects and together make the leap to Europe.”

Also resulting from Ambassador Bristol’s intervention, was the creation of new membership criteria. Dr. Rosell Aiquel publicly acknowledged during the General Assembly, that the Forum’s leadership criterion had effectively, although unintentionally, excluded women since it was limited to university heads who most often are men. He urged the executive to expand those qualifications to include deputy heads of universities, in order to afford greater gender balance and representation.

Dr. Rossell stated “We wanted to highlight the presence of women as a concept to be maintained in everything we do in FAP LAC-EU, gender equity in higher education is relevant to have inclusive visions. Nowadays, most of those who hold leadership positions in universities, especially as presidents or rectors, are men, which is why we consider it relevant to invite the outstanding Director of the Latin American-Caribbean Centre of The University of the West Indies, Ms. Gillian Bristol, to assume the Vice-Presidency for the Caribbean in the FAP LAC-EU. In addition to taking an effective step towards gender parity with her representation, we are aware of Ms. Bristol's commitment and excellent work, and are confident that her vast experience and consular perspective will help us to further integrate and enhance the work of this collaborative academic space that encompasses all three regions.”

The Forum’s overarching ambition is to further the establishment of a common Euro-Latin American-Caribbean space for higher education, science and innovation. This goal was first articulated at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of EU-CELAC in 2013 and will once again be on their agenda at the III EU-CELAC Summit slated for July 2023 in Spain. The FAP is pressing for a decision by EU-CELAC to formally create the bi-regional common space and has pledged its support.