STeP Leadership Conference 2024: Consensus and Inclusion for Informed Decision Making

The STeP Leadership Conference 2024, organized by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), took place from April 22nd to April 24th in Antigua and Guatemala City, Guatemala. The focus was on consensus and inclusion for informed decision-making. The event brought together prominent leaders and experts in science and diplomacy working in global change and fellows of the IAI's Science, Technology, and Policy (STeP) Program.

An excursion and a warm official welcome in Tecpán, Iximché, the ancient capital of the Kakchikel kingdom and an integral part of Maya culture, marked the first day of the conference. The inaugural session, dedicated to a transdisciplinary approach and decolonization, explored the relationship between local perspectives and scientific expectations and how to integrate indigenous knowledge into research and decision-making related to global environmental change. One of the speakers was Ramiro Batzin, Executive Director of the Sotz'il Association and Coordinator of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (FIIB).

On the second day, various sessions addressed key topics. María Schmukler presented the results of the IAI's Small Grants Program, highlighting lessons learned from working with social actors on research projects. Additionally, the new curriculum for scientific diplomacy, a free online course to be launched this year in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, was introduced.

The third and final day of the conference focused on preparedness for action. STeP fellows participated in simulated negotiation sessions on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and shared their views on international negotiation processes. A discussion session on the STeP leadership declaration was also held, during which participants debated how to translate words into tangible actions.

The conference concluded with a joint session organized by the Lancet Countdown Latin America and the IAI, where scientific diplomacy projects developed by STeP fellows were presented. The event underscored the importance of generating scientific evidence to inform local and regional public policies related to climate change and health.

The STeP conference participants were:

  1. Marcella Ohira, Deputy Executive Director, Capacity Building Director, IAI (Uruguay)
  2. Kim Portmess, STeP Program Leader, IAI (Panama)
  3. Branislav Pantović -  - STeP Fellow, IAI (Argentina)
  4. Gabriela Teixeira Duarte - Brazilian Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Brazil)
  5. Alice Ramos de Moraes - Brazilian Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Brazil)
  6. Larisse Faroni - BPBES/Office of the Federal Deputy Rodrigo Agostinho (Brazil)
  7. Chante Saunders - Masters Program CERMES UWI, Department of Emergency Management, Government of Barbados (Barbados)
  8. Rosario Quintero - National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) (Panama)
  9. Nathalia Tejedor - National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) (Panama)
  10. Bhuvanesh Awasthi - Mitacs CSPF Host Institution: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (Canada)
  11. Federico Caetano Grau - National Institute of Adolescent Social Inclusion (INISA) (Uruguay)
  12. Anh-Khoi Trinh - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Canada)
  13. Sarah Raza - Public Health Agency of Canada, Government of Canada (Canada)
  14. Luz Milbeth Cumba Garcia - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS STPF) Public Policy Program / IAI STeP Fellow
  15. Christina Ridley - Office of the Chief Scientist, Natural Resources Canada (Canada)
  16. Karina Romero Vega-Villa - National Science Foundation (USA)
  17. Mariannela Celeste Ruiz-Ruiz - AMEXAC (Mexico)
  18. Carlos Morales - Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Chile (Chile)
  19. Naphtali John - UWI CERMES (Trinidad & Tobago)
  20. María Schmukler - STeP Fellow, IAI (Uruguay)
  21. Hilario Espinoso - Belmont Forum (Panama)
  22. Brian Leung - National Science Foundation (USA)
  23. Julius Bright Ross - USAID, Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USA)
  24. Amanda Koltz - NASA (USA)
  25. Christina Pooler - UWI CERMES (Barbados)
  26. Valentina Hernández - Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Chile (Chile)
  27. Claudia Morales - Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Chile (Chile)
  28. Pablo Sanhueza - Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Chile (Chile)
  29. Zuhelen Veronica Padilla Barrera - Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (Mexico)
  30. Carol Franco - Virginia Technical University (USA, Dominican Republic)
  31. Rebecca Barnes - National Science Foundation, Belmont Forum (USA)
  32. Ramiro Batzin - Sotz'il (Guatemala)
  33. Gabriela Ferreira - São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Science Diplomacy and Innovation Diplomacy (InnSciD SP) (Brazil)
  34. Amâncio Jorge Silva Nunes de Oliveira - São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Science Diplomacy and Innovation Diplomacy (InnSciD SP) (Brazil)
  35. Liz Willets - Consultant to the Convention on Biological Diversity and newsdesk writer for The Lancet - Planetary Health (USA)

For more information about the conference, visit: https://www.iai.int/en/post/detail/STeP-Conferences 

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