The connectivity of the land section between Porto Alegre (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Santiago (Chile) of the BELLA Program
The connectivity of the land section between Porto Alegre (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Santiago (Chile) of the BELLA Program (Building the Europe Link to Latin America) was officially inaugurated this Wednesday, January 26, in an event carried out virtually, with the participation of authorities from the European Union (EU), the governments of the participating countries and the national research and education networks of Latin America.
Present at the launch ceremony were the ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Chile, León De La Torre, the Vice-Director General of DG International Partnerships (INTPA) of the EU, Myriam Ferran, the Interim Vice-Director General of DG Connect of the EU, Thomas Skordas, the Secretary of Innovation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil, Paulo Alvim, the Director of the National Agency for Research and Development of Chile (ANID), Aisén Etcheverry , the EU Ambassador to Brazil, Ignacio Ybañez, the EU Ambassador to Argentina, Amador Sánchez Rico, the Executive Director of RNP, Nelson Simões, the Executive Director of REUNA, Paola Arellano, the Director of the Inter-institutional Laboratory for e-Astronomy (LIneA) of Brazil, Luiz Nicolaci da Costa, the person in charge of Copernicus in Chile, Florencio Utreras, and the Executive Director of RedCLARA, Luis Eliecer Cadenas.
The inauguration of connectivity marks a historic milestone for the development of science, education, technology and innovation on the continent and its relationship with Europe. The segment has 6,070 km of terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure, with capacities of up to 600 Gbps that will benefit more than 1,550 university campuses and research centers in Chile and Brazil, leaving the route ready for the future connection of Argentine institutions. This new connectivity will bring numerous benefits to the Copernicus Program in Chile and to astronomical research in Brazil.
In his opening remarks, Luis Eliécer Cadenas compared BELLA to a digital hug between the countries involved. "I like to imagine that this is a hug that strengthens our historical ties and in all areas, including, through RedCLARA and its members, the areas of science, technology, education and innovation, fundamental for the economic and social development of our society", indicated the Director of RedCLARA.
The Deputy Director General of DG International Partnerships (INTPA) of the EU (BELLA-T co-financing institution) Myriam Ferran, described the alliance between the European Union and Latin America through BELLA as a model to be followed: "We share not only the same values, but also the challenges and objectives of this digital age. We will work side by side with you for a digital society and economy that puts the human being at the center. We believe that digital is the key to fostering innovation and for this reason we thank RedCLARA and the national research and education networks in Latin America for having embraced this challenge with us”.
In the opinion of Nelson Simões, Director of RNP, the success of BELLA was only possible thanks to the joint effort between the national research and education networks (RNIE), national governments and the European Union. “This infrastructure would not be possible only with national academic networks. These networks became relevant because they managed to materialize and demonstrate the results of public policies. Without our state governments, which invest in quality education and collaborative research, there would be no emerging technology or organization capable of advancing science and education for all,” he explained.
Simões also attributed the success of the project to the investments of academic networks in the internalization of their countries and, in large part, to the collaborators who develop and make available their technical skills along the way. “Thanks to our extraordinary teams we were able to share together with GÉANT and RedCLARA the construction and training of BELLA-T and integrate, like never before, communities from Europe to Latin America”, said the Director of the Brazilian academic network.
For the EU ambassador in Argentina, Amador Sánchez Rico, BELLA will enable the country, once it joins the Program, to advance initiatives in artificial intelligence, blockchain and technology of things, as well as climate science, health and telemedicine. In turn, the executive director of REUNA, the Chilean academic network, Paola Arellano, highlighted the importance of the new connection for the country and its region: “Latin America and Chile, in particular, are enormous natural laboratories; Only in Chile are 75% of the world's astronomical observatories, for example. That is why BELLA is essential to bring people, institutions and countries closer together, to share knowledge, facilitate access to resources, transform education and contribute to economic and human development”, she celebrated.
Among the observation projects that will benefit from the new connectivity is Copernicus, whose manager in Chile, Florencio Utreras, was also present at the launch, presenting an overview of the project and reaffirming the importance of BELLA for initiatives to monitor greenhouse gases, glacier movement, forest fires, red tides, volcanic activities, among others: “The work of monitoring the Earth is tremendous and when there are emergencies, information must be sent quickly. We can't put them on an HD and mail them; we need fast networks and BELLA comes to help us with that.”
For Luis Eliécer Cadenas, the inauguration marks an important moment in the history of cooperation between countries and continents, but collaboration must continue to exist. «Above the digital capacity, there is the people, the human work that makes the values of collaboration and cooperation really make BELLA what the project has been created to be. We need to continue collaborating, the work is just beginning”, concluded Cadenas.
ABOUT BEAUTIFUL
The BELLA Program covers the long-term interconnectivity needs of the research and education communities in Europe and Latin America. This is being achieved through two complementary and interdependent actions that will significantly enhance the ability of researchers and academics from both regions to collaborate together. These are BELLA-S (its underwater part, between Fortaleza, in Brazil, and Sines, in Portugal) and BELLA-T.
For more information about the BELLA Program, visit the following link
To attend the broadcast of the launching ceremony, visit the RedCLARA channel on YouTube
Source: Clara Network
