By Alejandra Garcia on March 20, 2035
Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel speaking at the Patria Colluquim.
On Wednesday, the 4th edition of the ‘Patria’ International Colloquium ended in Havana, after fostering 3 days of debates on the impact of technologies in media communications and their role in the construction of counter-hegemonic narratives from the global south.
Hosted by the University of Havana, this year’s event gathered more than 400 delegates from 50 countries under the slogan “We are peoples weaving networks” a space for communicators and experts to interact and share their collective experiences through workshops, panels and conferences, tying the bonds of solidarity and international cooperation.
This 4th Edition was dedicated to the Latin American multiplatform teleSUR on its 20th anniversary, highlighting the media outlet’s trajectory focused on giving voice to the peoples of the global south in the fight against misinformation on its continuous efforts to carry on the Legacy of the revolutionary leaders of our America.
During her inaugural speech, the president of this multiplatform, Patricia Villegas, assured that in this new edition is the proof that leftist and progressive movements are building a shared community, fighting from the south against the undeniable reality of neoliberalism and hegemony.
“We can only fight this reality if we understand that we have to do this together. We must stop thinking of ourselves as competitors but as collaborators and decisively and consciously work on common agendas. We must acknowledge that all of our struggles matter,” Villegas mentioned.
With this IV Patria Colloquium a new chapter begins, a new regional perspective, and a new communication effort. For Destinie Sanchez, communist activist based in the United Kingdom, the Patria Colloquium was pivotal for those who have the common horizon of building fairer knowledge societies. “We are seeing a massive lack of information and calculated disinformation. That is why it is so important for the resistance to be united here to work together on this fight-back process. To use social media and media communications in general is a crucial tool to really challenge that imperialist narrative that has prevailed for years and years.”
The over 400 participants experienced the real impact of the blockade on Cuba. Two days before the opening of the event a massive power outage left the island in complete darkness, a situation that was reversed by the workers of the energy sector after hours of struggle. The economic warfare imposed on the island prevents it from acquiring the materials needed to modernize the national power grid. In this context, Alejandro Pedregal, Researcher, Writer and Filmmaker, acknowledged that “it is inspiring meeting people mainly from the global south that are working sometimes in very hard conditions and that are working with a very brave approach for justice, such as Cuba.”
At the closing event, teleSUR honored Cuban Revolutionary leader Raul Castro, Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with the teleSUR citizenship award, for their commitment to the truth of their peoples.
“We want to offer you this award, because you are the ones who believe that another world beats within this south of ours; for your legacy. Truth is not negotiable, sovereignty is not for sale. teleSUR, like you three, does not forget, does not get tired, does not fear. Today, our Big Homeland embraces you,” she concluded.
The colloquium closed with a final declaration on the importance of strengthening counter-hegemonic media worldwide, urging media outlets to push for a new technological world order that prioritizes the global wellbeing above imperialist interests and guarantees universal access to technology. Next year’s edition, which will be dedicated to Cuban Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on the 100 anniversary of his birth, has been called to make a reality the collaborative processes set in motion this 2025.
Final declaration of the 4th International Colloquium “Homeland”
The declaration was read in full by the General Coordinator of the meeting, Rosa Miriam Elizalde, who said that it is “the beginning of a new stage of the Colloquium”.
The International Colloquium “Homeland” was created with the purpose of articulating projects, experiences and emancipatory communicative strategies against the dominant models imposed by those who use the media and the internet as spaces to foment hatred, division and confrontation between peoples.
Today, as we bring the fourth edition of this International Colloquium to a close, we are committed to building a permanent working structure to promote a Southern Network, aware that ideas only come to life when they are accompanied by collective and permanent organization.
We, the participants in “Patria”, recognize that, although technology has historically served domination and exploitation, it also has a profoundly emancipatory potential when reorganized under principles of social justice and popular sovereignty.
But the race for Artificial Intelligence has allowed global corporations to take the initiative. Transcending the individualistic model of consumption and settling on a commons-based approach, in line with the free software movement, is a condition for building a future other than the one designed by the billionaires who today form the Ministry of Propaganda of Donald Trump’s regime.
In this context, the 4th International Colloquium assumes as its fundamental tasks:
This Colloquium, which has brought together more than 400 participants from 50 countries, including ministers and government officials from the South, is especially dedicated to Telesur, which is a beacon of truth for Our America and the world. The next meeting, in 2026, will honor the centenary of the birth of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.
Therefore, the Colloquium is not over; today is the first day of our next meeting. Let us make the collaborative projects that have been developed in this edition of the Colloquium a reality, and let us return next March to continue making “Patria”, which is possible if we strengthen the networks of resistance, build sovereignty and consolidate communication at the service of the people.
At the University of Havana, Cuba, March 19, 2025
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English