On December 2, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) brought together experts and regional authorities in the weminar “New Approaches to Science Diplomacy: Strategies from the Global South.” The central question was: how to move from scientific evidence to concrete public and diplomatic decisions?
From discourse to practice
The debate brought to the table experiences that are already working in the region. Panama presented the Central American Policy for Open and Inclusive Science, Technology, and Innovation, a framework that brings together eight countries and enables regional agreements. “Trust and assertive communication are key to moving forward,” emphasized Yen Caballero of SENACYT Panama. From El Salvador, Congresswoman Ana Figueroa cited the Human Mobility Law as an example of a regulation built on evidence and with the participation of the technical diaspora. Agustina Salvati, from Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), pointed to the need to “professionalize international cooperation with a strategic Latin American vision.”
Training to negotiate with science
The meeting also served to present the curriculum of the IAI’s Science Diplomacy Center (SDC), developed in conjunction with the University of São Paulo and the São Paulo School of Innovation and Scientific Diplomacy (InnSciD SP). The proposal combines concepts, negotiation skills, and simulations based on real cases from the region. According to Marcella Ohira, director of the SDC, “the course offers the concepts and skills necessary to negotiate and communicate in complex scenarios that are needed to successfully navigate the field of science diplomacy.”
We live in an “era of disruption,” stated Kim Montgomery (AAAS): geopolitical tensions, emerging technologies, and environmental crises make it essential for science to be part of the diplomatic dialogue. The challenge, the panelists agreed, is to make science a common language for cooperation and governance in the Americas.
How the course is structured
Moderated by Javier Gracia-Garza (chair of the SDC-IAI Advisory Committee), the panel detailed the objectives and implementation of the course “Science Diplomacy and Global Environmental Change in the Americas,” based on supporting material that documents concrete experiences in the region.
Members of the research team from the University of São Paulo (USP), Amâncio Jorge de Oliveira and Gabriela Ferreira, explained the curriculum’s architecture, which integrates conceptual content, negotiation skills, and immersive methodologies (simulations and role-play) based on real cases from the region related to the environment, mining, biodiversity, artificial intelligence, among others.
Access and modalities
The course is free, self-managed, and certified, and is available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English on the IAI Virtual Campus. It can also be taught in person in a workshop format with the support of the SDC. For more information, please contact sdc@dir.iai.int.
View the recording of the event:
