(09.05.14) The 23rd Latin American Colloquium on Earth Sciences took place with the support of the DFG from 25-27 March 2014 at the University of Heidelberg. This regular event was organised by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Stinnesbeck and Dr. Christina Ifrim from the Geological Institute at the University of Heidelberg.

It was attended by approximately 150 researchers from Latin America and Germany with interests in every area of the geosciences. The main topics were the geological development of Central America and the South American continent, mountain formation, uplifting, erosion and the interaction of tectonic and climatological parameters. There were also contributions on palaeontology, natural resources, geo-hazards and economic geology.

Summing up, Dr. Dietrich Halm, Head of the DFG Office Latin America, presented funding data and talked about earth science projects funded by the DFG in collaboration with Latin American countries. The Latin American countries with the strongest interest in collaborating on earth sciences are Chile and Brazil, followed by Mexico and Argentina. The area which receives the most funding is geology, ahead of geochemistry, mineralogy, geophysics, palaeontology and water research.

Until 2011, the Latin American Colloquium on Geosciences was organised by the "Latin America" working group of the DFG Senate Committee for joint research into earth sciences. This body has now been disbanded and the event is organised by the research community itself. The 24th Latin American Colloquium will take place in 2016 at the University of Münster.