Event runs until Wednesday in Brasília and has the seal of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)
Tuesday at the 23rd Young Scientists Conference of the World Academy of Sciences Regional Partner for Latin America and the Caribbean (TWAS-LACREP) and the 2nd Regional Conference of TYAN for Latin America and the Caribbean saw again a huge integration of leading scientists from Brazil and throughout the continent.
The University of Brasília (UnB) hosted on the 2nd day of the event celebrated researchers from Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. On the agenda, current topics for the world economy and society. André Luiz Dutra Fenner, a researcher at Fiocruz and a doctor in the field of Development and Public Policies, began the day’s work. Next, the highlight was the thematic session with the theme “The role of Basic Sciences in the teaching of Environmental Sustainability.”
To present the subject, Brazilian mathematician Inalmar Dantas Barbosa, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), shared the auditorium with two more references from the Americas: Professor Andrea Paula Lima, a Brazilian based at the University of Santiago, Chile, and Rolando Gittens, from the Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services (INDICASAT), Panama.
After lunch, Sustainability gave way to “Biochemistry, Diseases and the Balance in Lifestyle,” the theme of the afternoon session presented by four renowned scientists in Brazil and abroad.
Franco Cabrerizo, a member of TYAN and a researcher at the National University of San Martín, Argentina, led the work together with his compatriot Eva-Acosta Rodríguez, from the National University of Córdoba, and Brazilian Patrícia Zancan, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
In the late afternoon, Professors Pablo Bolaños, from the University of Costa Rica, Leslie Tejeda, from the University of Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), Bolivia, Alexander de Luna, from the Center for Investigation and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV), Mexico, and Johan Reyes, Honduran who is Director of Projects in Climate and Innovation of the Ayuda en Acción institute, concluded the actions with a lecture on “Sustainable Agriculture and Biodiversity as Assets for Climate and Social Stability.”
For researcher Andrea Paula Lima, a reference at the University of Santiago, the Conference is recognized as a multidisciplinary event within the specialized area and offers a much greater enrichment than just scientific knowledge. She makes a point of closing her schedule to attend the initiative annually.
“I think this kind of event is very important and different from most scientific conferences. We manage to bring together people from different parts of the world, you see people from different cultures, it is enriching for us as human beings. And it gives us a different idea of the perspective of each country with its reality, each place with its respective scientific development. On the other hand, the themes are not entirely scientific, so you can address issues such as inequality, poverty, sustainability with scientists who seek solutions to real problems,” describes the mathematician.
The event in the federal capital brings together young international researchers from different areas of Exact Sciences, Innovation and Technology. In addition to TYAN and TWAS-LACREP, the event is funded by IQ/UnB, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Federal Government, the Foundation for Scientific and Technological Enterprises (Finatec), the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), the Department of Mathematics of the Institute of Exact Sciences of the UnB and the Serrapilheira Institute.
Emerson Luciano da Silva is one of the PhD students who are present throughout the Conference in Brasília. The Serrapilheira Institute financed his trip and he reinforces how the event has been enriching for his research line at the Federal University of Ceará (UFCE).
“It is very important, as a researcher, to have contact with different scientists and areas of knowledge, because they are people who work in this area. And the lectures have been great and show how to apply Basic Science in our field of study. Thanks to Serrapilheira, I was able to attend this event, far from my homeland and that would probably become unviable to come without this support. The Conference will help in my training and in the construction of networking with researchers in the Environmental, Chemical and Pharmacological areas,” reports the PhD student in Pharmacology from the UFC Graduate Program, in Fortaleza.
Activities continue on Wednesday (11) at the Institute of Chemistry (IQ) of UnB, with plenary lectures, thematic sessions and panels distributed from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm. The expectation is the presence of about 100 leading researchers from all over the world.
The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) focuses on bringing together young researchers to contribute to communication and cooperation between the new generations of scientists. You can check the daily schedule of the event on this link.