Since today 25 yearsthe Global Foundation, Democracy and Development (Funglode), has been an ecosystem of emerging thought and human action of Dominicans and foreigners that converge in knowledge, education, art, science, culture, urbanism, environment, diplomacy, technology and investigation with the aim of transforming the present and future of the Dominican Republic.
It is a project that was born in the mind of the former president Leonel Fernandezwhich found echo in professionalsintellectuals, institutions, organizations and businessmen interested in contributing and identifying solutions and improving and globalizing public policies with strategies developmentfrom knowledge.
Located in a modern building, designed especially for this type of centers on Captain Eugenio de Marchena street number 26 in the sector. The Esperillain Santo Domingo, Funglode has expanded not only in the portfolio of postgraduate academic offerings and other types of teaching, but also in infrastructure.
Despite being created by a politician with partisan recognition, that has not been a limitation or a reservation for even ideological oppositesare trained in training centers such as Global Institute of Higher Studies in Social Sciences that teaches master in disciplines such as political science, economics, law, education and other disciplines.
Marco Herreraexecutive director of the foundation, explains that in 25 years have become a multidisciplinary complex scientific and cultural that walks hand in hand with the society Dominican in its process of development.
“Regardless of whether at some point you wanted to give him a political bias to something that we can do in the foundation, I repeat, it is inevitable due to the transcendence of the leader who conceived this institution, I believe that the entire societyin a majority way, recognizes the non-political nature of the foundation and I think that also, well, the same public that I know is part of our projects bears witness to this”.
The entity’s services transcend the national border and there are offices for the diaspora in New York, SpainFrance, Florida and Chicago.
economic support
The financial part is supported by contributions that make businessmen since the creation of the foundation. There are also specific activities of fundraising such as dinners, golf tournaments, publications, through multilateral projects in research and has had the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, Spanish cooperation and other entities.
“He (Leonel Fernandez) has always preferred never to opt for any type of public subsidy and support us with contributions from private sector and any other fundraising activity that we can do, we have always chosen not to be part of the national budget.
With the resources contributed have increased the educational offersbut also the growth of infrastructure such as the building that is built to house the Global Institute of Higher Studies in Social Sciences (Iglobal) that would be completed next year. A place for a radio station and a recording studio were also built.
A quarter of a century of services
In the 25 yearsthe graduates of the different schools of Funglode exceed 2,000 and during that time 1,800 have been taught courses and training250 books have been published and the editions of the global magazine exceed 100.
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“Thinking centers are vital so that decision makers can act with information, data and analysis,” explains Marco Herrera, and under that principle, Funglode has built an agenda that covers education, economy, urban planning, culture, security, environment, diplomacy, international relations, among many other areas.
Besides, Funglode and his Research Center of Communication (CIC) have strengthened the critical thinking about the Dominican media ecosystem through research and publications that have served as a basis for national diagnoses, training of professionals and legislative discussions on freedom of expressionmedia sustainability and media literacy.
The published booksas results of research of the institution include: The white paper of Dominican journalism, Provincial television in the Dominican Republic, Analysis of the programming of Dominican open television, The treatment of HIV/AIDS in the media Dominican writings: Diario Libre, El Caribe, El Día, Hoy, Listín Diario and El Nacional.
The Juan Bosch Library: the intellectual heart of the house
One of the outstanding areas of Funglode is the library Juan Bosch created in 2003 and currently directs Aina Montero. It is located in a building connected to six levels. In the first are the reference works, in the second, regional studies; in the third, social sciences; in the fourth, humanities; In the fifth is the newspaper library and periodicals and the sixth is reserved.
“At the beginning we had around 50,000, 60,000 volumes and there came a time when the space was already a little short for us, because that vision of strategic alliances the provision for the library was always on the agenda,” says Aida Montero.
Today the library reaches the 400,000 books arranged on open shelves that serve as consultation and research for those who require it because it is a library open to the public, but few people are aware of this educational asset.
Among its treasures are the personal libraries of intellectuals like Frank Moya Pons, Ramón Font Bernard, Miguel Cocco, Celestino del Arenal, John Collins and the Mexican economist René Villarreal. Furthermore, it preserves what is possibly the most complete collection of haitian studies from the Caribbean, with between 12,000 and 15,000 volumes.
The library not only preserves; It also innovates. It has online catalogs, digital repositorieshistorical collections such as Institutional Reports from the Dominican Republic (from 1910 to 2024), the digitization of the magazine Nowand key documents from international treaties signed by the country since 1844.
“This space is public access and is made to encourage investigationcuriosity and permanent training“, underlines Montero while highlighting that researchers from personalities and entities on Haiti, the Caribbean, the United States and Europe frequently travel to Santo Domingo exclusively to consult their funds.
The future: a tool for national development
After 25 years, Funglode is in a stage of consolidation and projection. The aspiration, as explained by its executive director, is to become a structural actor in the development Dominican, a center that accompanies the country in its medium and long-term goals, regardless of political situations.
The main challenge continues to be financial sustainabilitya common challenge among think tanks of the world. But the creative impulse and the ability to generate innovative projects They continue to set the pace of the institution.
“Funglode is a intellectual effervescence permanent”, says Herrera, and it is enough to visit its rooms, studios of multimedia: radio, television booths, classrooms, exhibition halls and the library to understand that he is not exaggerating.
To celebrate in style today the 25 years of service of the Global Democracy and Development Foundation (Funglode), its directors convened a meeting, by invitation, in order to review the achievements and share future plans.
The event will take place at 7:00 pm at the Hotel Real Intercontinental Santo Domingo, where managers, founders, collaborators, young leaders, graduates and international allies will meet to celebrate their institutional legacy to the Dominican Republic and reaffirm the development vision for the coming years of the institution.
Funglode was created by former president Leonel Fernández to contribute to the intellectual development of the country.
