The Future is closer... NOW WHAT DO WE DO?
One week away from the most important science and knowledge dissemination event in Latin America, the first international exhibitors arrive in Chile, among them, the specialist in genomics and artificial intelligence, Lara Urban. Along with some of the world-renowned scientists, national experts who will be part of the thirteenth version of Congreso Futuro -organized by the Future Challenges Commission of the Senate and the Fundación Encuentros del Futuro- were presented. With special emphasis on the value of science generated from Chile, the official welcome was given to those who will be part of this group of more than 100 personalities linked to science, technology, innovation, arts and humanities, who will be exhibiting in our country from next Monday, January 15.
During the presentation, held at the Ceina Cultural Center (Arturo Prat #33) - the same place that will host Congreso Futuro 2024 between January 15 and 20 - the organizers anticipated various activities that will be held in parallel to the program's own talks, including: AI and scientific dissemination workshops, art exhibitions, immersive experiences and literary fair, as well as a genetic sequencing stand for the prevention of cervical cancer through a novel diagnosis of papillomavirus by self-sampling.
The president of the Challenges of the Future Commission, Senator Ximena Rincón, stated that "we have more than 110 researchers, national and international scientists who will accompany us in this new version, which once again is presented as a meeting place for the scientific community, the academic community, civil society and politics to think about the development of the country and the communities of the world. We believe that it is tremendously relevant to highlight not only the presence of our international guests, but also the national ones".
"Congreso Futuro is a space that has to do with what we are contributing to global discussions and issues, such as artificial intelligence," said Rossana Dresdner, Executive Director of Fundación Imagen de Chile.
Congreso Futuro is a meeting space organized by the Senate -through the Future Challenges Commission- and Fundación Encuentros del Futuro (FEF), with the support of the Ministry of Science, the Chamber of Deputies, the Chilean Academy of Sciences, and all the universities in the country.
The executive vice-president of the Future Encounters Foundation, Guido Girardi, considers it a privilege that Chile is one of the few places that have a unique thinking chassis in the world: "I believe that there are very few meeting places and Congreso Futuro is one of them. Think how important it is to have more than 110 intellectuals from all over the world, 60% international and 40% national, talking precisely about these challenges and that is why I think it is so important to preserve and export this because it can be a world model, in fact, there is already interest from Spain and other places in the world that are looking at the case of Chile to make their own Future Congress".
The event, which will take place from January 15 to 20, will be held in downtown Santiago through the CEINA Cultural Center. Francisca Las Heras, executive director of the venue stated that "we trust and believe that the future has to be thought with young people and for young people, therefore, it is so important and significant that today we are gathered in this space, which is also a cultural center that has become a citizen, its doors are open to the city located in the center, which is also very important. So I am grateful for all the questions and reflections that the Future Congress will leave us with".
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITORS
From today, Chile opens its doors to the world for representatives of science and innovation from more than 23 countries - including Chile, Malta, Finland, Morocco and China, among others - to discuss with citizens and national science about the changes and innovations that bring us the possible futures linked to the relevance of artificial intelligence and the importance of collaboration in a world in constant transformation.
For the executive director of Imagen de Chile, Rossana Dresdner, "Chile today is concerned about issues that matter, not only to the country, but to the whole world. Issues such as democracy, sustainability, diversity and inclusion. Congreso Futuro is a space that has to do with that, with what we are contributing to global discussions and problems, such as artificial intelligence, offering a necessary space to anticipate these discussions on science, technology and the society of the future".
It is for this reason that the North American researcher, Lara Urban, who was named Young Scientist of the Year 2022 by the German Association of University Professors and Teachers, will travel to the north of our country together with the Chilean speaker Matías Gutiérrez, to describe the microbiome of the Salar de Atacama and Geysers del Tatio with portable sequencing technology that will allow to know the human effect in these places.
"We are going to use this genetic sequencing tool as well as artificial intelligence in the field to understand the genetic biodiversity found in the salar. It is a very unique opportunity to investigate how we as a human race have an impact on the environment. It is a unique place because it has had little intervention, so it will be a fairly new observation and we hope that the results that we can generate and deliver on Sunday, January 14 will be of great value," said Urban to the international media at the CEINA Cultural Center.
But it is not only international science that will be present at Congreso Futuro 2024; the Chilean Luis Emilio Pizarro, executive director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), who received the Princess of Asturias 2023 Award for International Cooperation in October, will also be present.
In recognition of the valuable contribution of the Chilean scientists who will participate in this version of the Future Congress, the senator member of the Future Challenges Commission, Francisco Chahuán, thanked the efforts of academia and local science. "I want to thank the tremendous effort made by public and private universities and Chilean science. I want to thank the Academy of Sciences that has always been present (...) This 2024, Congreso Futuro has as its slogan ¿What do we do now? We hope to be the first country in Latin America to regulate artificial intelligence. We have already made progress in neuro-rights, we are the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean in the cybersecurity framework law and we are also making progress in the protection of the human genome. With Congreso Futuro we make visible the possible futures".
Alfonso De Urresti, also a member of the Challenges of the Future Commission, added that "this is an excellent initiative that will have a large presence of foreign guests and a significant number of national scientists. The IA theme is challenging for our country, for humanity, which will allow us to reflect from the territories to the world".
JOIN THIS EDITION
With 110 national and international exhibitors in 16 regions, workshops, talks, activities and a host of novelties, Congreso Futuro is a must-see event for the summer of 2024.
In Santiago it will take place at the CEINA Cultural Center (Arturo Prat #33), where a free experience for the whole family will be offered. The invitation is that every citizen can be a protagonist of his or her future, feel it, enter, immerse, live it.
To obtain free tickets, please visit www.congresofuturo.cl and Puntoticket and select the day and time of the exhibition of interest. The program of the entire event will also be available.
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