Quito (Ecuador) has hosted the official launch of EMPOANDES, an Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE – Strand 2) project focused on strengthening climate services capacities across the Andean region. The project was formally launched during its Kick-off Meeting in the Ecuadorian capital, where partners from Europe and Latin America gathered to align objectives, establish governance structures, and initiate a shared roadmap for collaboration.
This first in-person exchange marked a key milestone in building a cohesive and operational consortium. Beyond agreeing on core coordination mechanisms, participating institutions laid the foundations for a common framework to deliver the project’s activities, results, and outputs in an organized and coordinated manner.
EMPOANDES aims to co-develop needs-driven, sector-oriented climate services, bridging climate science, data, and decision-making. To achieve this, the project will advance competency-based curricula, co-creation processes, and applied training, supporting the effective uptake of tools and knowledge by institutions, professionals, and end users.
Following this first publication, EMPOANDES will regularly share updates, activities, and insights through this page and other communication channels. As highlighted during the kick-off, the project “started as a list of emails” and is now moving forward as a consortium committed to long-term cooperation and impact.