The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) - the Spanish acronym is CEPAL- was established by Economic and Social Council resolution 106(VI) of 25 February 1948 and began to function that same year.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is one of five regional commissions of the United Nations headquartered in Santiago, Chile. It was founded in 1948 with the purpose of contributing to the economic and social development of Latin America, coordinating actions directed towards this end, and reinforcing economic ties among countries and with other nations of the world.

ECLAC contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through analytical and policy support on economic, social and environmental issues related to the 2030 Agenda and through customized capacity -building and technical advice activities by demand of its member States. Poverty eradication and the reduction of inequalities are central elements of the SDGs, and are key priorities for Latin America and the Caribbean and thus central to ECLAC’s research agenda and activities.

Training is an integral part of the technical cooperation that ECLAC offers its member countries, along with its interdisciplinary expertise and intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder regional platforms to support the fulfillment of this ambitious agenda in the region.

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Regional partner organizations

Learning products

  • On site and e-learning trainings on a variety of topics through its  Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning
  • Regional observatories: https://www.cepal.org/en/observatorios
  • The Summer School on Latin American Economies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is a plural space of thought that promotes discussion, reflection, and the generation and exchange of ideas on policies in favor of growth and for combating poverty and inequalities. Since its inception in 2000, ECLAC has  500 students from 35 countries and different universities have joined the Summer School It combines the specialized contributions of the different divisions of ECLAC and the advances in the frontier of academic research: https://escueladeverano.cepal.org/2019/en
  • Planbarómetro (in Spanish): an analytical tool that enables the user to characterize the region’s planning for development instruments, processes and systems: https://www.cepal.org/es/notas/planbarometro

Latin America and the Caribbean Learning Partners