Science Diplomacy in the Post-Covid World
Diplomats and scientists discuss the importance of the union between science and diplomacy after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to unite science and diplomacy to achieve a joint response to threats that know no borders.
While some world leaders responded in different ways, scientists started an unprecedented global collaboration to understand this new disease and advance together in the investigation of vaccines and treatments.
In the post COVID-19 world, will science take center stage in world diplomacy? What strategies, structures and mechanisms to facilitate science diplomacy exist in Spain and in the United States? How to nurture new generations of leaders who will build bridges between science and diplomacy to address global challenges?
Participants
Marga Gual Soler
Dr. Marga Gual Soler is an international expert, advisor and educator in science diplomacy recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She works with governments, academia, NGOs and multilateral organizations to strengthen the links between science and international affairs to address global challenges. Currently she serves as the International Co-Chair in Science Diplomacy and Scientific Heritage of Mexico City and advisor to the Horizon 2020 European Science Diplomacy Cluster. As a member of the Research, Innovation, and Science Experts Group (RISE) she advised former European Commissioner Carlos Moedas on the EU science diplomacy strategy. She was a Senior Project Director at the AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy, where she led education and training in science diplomacy and facilitated partnerships between countries facing diplomatic tensions, notably helping rebuild scientific ties between the United States and Cuba after the diplomatic normalization of 2015. In 2019 she participated in the largest all-women expedition to Antarctica.
Alicia Pérez Porro
Dr. Alicia Pérez Porro is a marine biologist connecting the ocean, gender equality and science diplomacy for a sustainable future. Pérez-Porro is President of the Association for Spanish Scientists in USA (ECUSA) and President of the Network of Societies of Spanish Researchers Abroad (RAICEX).
Cristina Fraile Jiménez de Muñana
Cristina Fraile Jiménez de Muñana has been the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C., since August 2015. She studied Law at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK. She joined the Spanish Diplomatic Career in 1990. Since then, she has been posted to the Embassies of Spain in Dakar (Senegal), Brasilia (Brazil), to the Permanent Mission of Spain to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Vienna), to the Embassy of Spain in New Delhi (India) and to the Embassy of Spain in Vienna (Austria). In Dakar, New Delhi and Austria, she was the Deputy Chief of Mission.
Franklin Carrero-Martínez
Dr. Franklin Carrero-Martínez holds a Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Neurobiology and a Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His multidisciplinary career includes roles as researcher and educator, science administrator, and science diplomat in government, academia and NGOs. In 2012, he transitioned to a career in science diplomacy and policy as the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Roger Revelle Fellow in Global Stewardship. He later joined STAS and was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City as acting Science Counselor before moving to National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering in 2014. In 2018, he joined the Academies where he is a senior Theme Lead on Global Policy and Development.
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