Last night I returned from the extraordinary
2019 Congreso Futuro, which took place in Chile from January 14-20. I had been invited to speak at this truly unique Congress last April via a formal letter from
Senator (Senador) Guido Girardi Lavín,
President, Future Challenges, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission, who was writing on behalf of the Chilean Congress, the Government of the Republic of Chile and the Chilean
Academy of Sciences. This year's Congress was the eight annual one and the Congress has become the
most important free and open-access scientific forum in Latin America. According to the invitation:
It is unique in the region for providing Nobel
laureates, scientists, researchers, artists, opinion leaders and citizens alike the opportunity
to experience some of the world’s most cutting-edge research, participate in the
understanding of emerging trends and actively engage in the innovation of ideas and
debates that directly influence the globe.
Dr. Girardi is a true visionary and leader and all those who had the fabulous experience of taking part in the Congreso Futuro are indebted to him for the incredible intellectual exchanges, social events, as well as cultural ones. New friendships and partnerships have been made across disciplines and across the globe because of this Congreso Futuro!
The Congreso Futuro was a transformative event and experience
with about 100 presenters from around the globe. The attention to detail was incredible, with an individual itinerary provided for each speaker
plus each one of us was assigned a student volunteer.
The Congress consists of TED-like talks as well as panels and I thoroughly enjoyed sessions on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to climate change to food insecurity.
The venue in Santiago was the former National Congress, which is a stunning building surrounded by a garden.
In addition to snacks and lunches provided to the speakers there was even a magnificent banquet last Wednesday evening hosted by the Chilean President
Sebastián Piñera at the presidential palace in Santiago. The conversations there that continued throughout the Congress I will treasure.
There was a full day (last Saturday) on
the Nobel Prize Dialogue on The Future of Learning in which 4 Nobel laureates took part and representatives from the Nobel Foundation and panelists as well. There was a lovely lunch provided and closing remarks, and since I have had Visiting Professorships at both KTH in Stockholm and at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden it was delightful to meet the delegation from Sweden.
I had the pleasure of speaking in Santiago on January 15 and then at
one of the regional venues in Valparaiso on January 17. At the former, I was part of a session on
Making Sense of Complexity Through Simplicity that included Daniel Hurtado of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Robert Sutor of IBM (who was born in Yonkers, where I obtained much of my schooling), and Brian Farrell of Harvard University. My talk in Santiago was on
The Era of Supernetworks and it was livestreamed.
My presentation in Valparaiso was on
Women in Science: A Personal Journey and
the video can be accessed here (with Spanish translation). I expect that, as in previous years, all the talks in Santiago will be posted soon. Joining me in Valparaiso at the National Congress were
the Nobel laureate Michael Kosterlitz, professor at my alma mater Brown University, Amber Case, and Floyd Romesberg and we enjoyed travel there and back with our great driver, Juan Carlos, and even had a tour of Valparaiso, which is a UNESCO site. Each talk was followed by a very stimulating panel and discussions.
At our event, 8 ambassadors of Latin American countries came to our talks and panels that followed and even joined us for lunch!
We were hosted in Valparaiso by Senador Chahuan and we thank him for the exceptional hospitality!
I was thrilled when a group of girls showed up for my presentation in Valparaiso who are part of an award-winning national robotics team and also was absolutely delighted when Dean Juan Kuznar even mentioned the
Stem Gems book, edited by Stephanie Espy, in which I am featured, along with 43 other role models for young girls.
To the wonderful speakers, who are true trailblazers that I met and I will never forget; to the superb student volunteers and staff, and to the extraordinary organizers, a thank you from the bottom of my heart! You set new standards for intellectual exchanges and experiences! Also, many thanks to the wonderful journalists, including Macarena Pizarro of CNN Chile, who took the time to interview me.
Goodbye, beautiful Chile, and the fabulous Congreso Futuro! Till we meet again!
And, to add to the Chilean experience, last Saturday night at about 10:30PM as I was drifting off to sleep because of an early departure back to North America the next morning, my bed in the hotel room started shaking, and when I checked the Chilean news there had, indeed, been
an earthquake in Coquimbo, registered at 6.7.
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