Affiliations Jesuit, Catholic Website Gumilla | Staff 26 (7 Jesuits) | |
Established 1968; 49 years ago (1968) Headquarters 1010 Avenida Oeste 7
Caracas, Venezuela Publications Revista Comunicación
Temas de Formación Sociopolítica | ||
Centro Gumilla is a center for research and social action run by the Society of Jesus in Venezuela. It was founded in 1968 and is the first such center created in Latin America under Superior General Pedro Arrupe to direct Jesuit efforts more toward the service of the poor.
Contents
Research
The Centre carried out a study of the effectiveness of communal councils under Chavez's government. Also, Gumilla Center Foundation has become a partner with the Centre for Studies on Growth and Population Development under the Ministry of People's power for Communes and Social Movements in an effort to find what best contributes to the welfare of the Venezuelan people. In its range of publications, projects, and case histories, Centro Gumilla tries to foster organizational growth and community empowerment. It reports on topics like the growth of socialism in Venezuela, the way those moving from a rural to an urban environment form communities, and violence in the schools. Researcher Luis Carlos Diaz at the Centre was singled out in 2013 for his large following in the popular media. Another of its staff, a former member of the disarmament commission, was interviewed by BBC on "When Venezuela became so violent".
It is also the venue for public forums on topics like election results and the future of the country. Changes in contemporary journalism are also in the purview of the centre's interests. It declared that "Venezuela is going through a crisis of freedom of expression," a topic on which it will hold its seventh Conference on Investigative Journalism at the Javeriana University. Other projects of the centre include sponsoring photo contests on human rights. The Venezuelan public library catalogues 109 books, articles, and other media on studies carried out by the Gumilla Centre. Recent publications include Understanding the Network Society reviewed in El Nacional.
Direct action
The Centre also holds workshops to help young Venezuelans. From 1964 to 2006 a group of Jesuits associated with Centro Gumilla formed cooperatives for the empowerment of local peoples.