The Tricontinental Center (CETRI), a non-governmental organization founded in 1976 and based in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), is a center for study, publication, documentation, and continuing education on development and North-South relations.
CETRI aims to give voice to the perspectives of the South and contribute to critical reflection on the dominant concepts and practices of development in the era of neoliberal globalization. It focuses in particular on understanding and discussing the role of social and political actors in the South who are fighting for the recognition of social, political, cultural, and ecological rights.
CETRI’s activities fall into four categories: research, training, publication, and documentation. The role of social movements in the South, the dynamics of the anti-globalization movement, the evolution of democracies in Latin America, the scope of social and political alternatives in the South, and the logic and consequences of structural adjustments and development aid are among the main themes of its work in recent years.
CETRI carries out most of its work within a network of institutes, study centers, NGOs, and partner movements in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It is particularly active within the International Council of the World Social Forum. In Belgium, CETRI is a member of the National Center for Development Cooperation (CNCD) and the French- and German-speaking Federation of Development Cooperation Associations (Acodev).
