The event will take place on January 15 at the Municipal Theatre of Temuco, with the support of the regional Intendancy of the La Araucanía Region and the Universities Católica de Temuco, Autónoma de Chile and Universidad de La Frontera.

This year’s version of the Congress of the Future (“Congreso Futuro Araucanía 2020”) in the La Araucanía Region is going to take place under the title “Ideas for a new world” and is one of the biggest events for knowledge, science and art in South America.

The initiative is led by the Committee for Challenges of the Future, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Senate and the Foundation Encounters for Future. It is the ninth version of the congress held from January 13 to 17. In the La Araucanía Region the event takes place at the Municipal Theatre of Temuco on January 15.

The Congress is supported and coordinated by the regional Intendancy of the La Araucanía Region and the Universities Universidad Católica de Temuco, Universidad Autónoma de Chile and Universidad de La Frontera and provides a space for debate on the urgent necessity of more and improved science, technology and ideas in Chile that allow us to create the country we want to live in.

Since its first version, the Congress of the Future brought outstanding national and international thinkers, scientists and researchers together and invites the civil society to think about the future of our civilization and the impact current scientific, social and cultural progress has our daily life.

“This is a great opportunity for La Araucanía and in this regard this congress will allow us to have a valuable space to scientifically rethink our region and to visualize the way we can contribute with our knowledge and our researchers and scientists to the concrete development of our region in different areas, such as agriculture, fruit growing, biomedical sciences, social science, etc.”, Dr. Eduardo Hebel, the rector of UFRO, explained.

The university authority appreciates the joint work of the three participating universities in the region and pointed out that, this way, the potential of science will get reflected in the development of each of the questions asked in the different fields that will be discussed, such as renewable energies and water shortage, amongst others.

“I want to thank the three rectors for their participation in this important event. The commitment of our universities is extremely important for the regional development. This is an historic opportunity to show the potential of our region to the country and the world, that we are full of opportunities,” Victor Manoli, the regional intendant of La Araucanía, pointed out.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS

It is the third time that the La Araucanía Region is part of the event. This year, three speakers are going to participate. One of them is John Cryan, PhD. in pharmacology and professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience at University College Cork, Ireland, where he works as a researcher at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre’s Microbiome Institute.

Another speaker is Joaquín Fargas, an industrial engineer, art director of the Bioart Laboratory and professor of technological art at Maimónides University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And the third speaker is Ximena Hartsock, graduate in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, and president and co-founder of Phone2Action.

The constant growth of the Congress of the Future and the series of meetings with citizens that are taking place are possible thanks to a decision the Chilean Congress made in 2010 – within the bicentenary of the country’s independence – in order to connect the society with the challenges of the 21st century and, this way, to contribute to the democratization of the scopes and problems it would bring.

The attendance at the congress is free of charge and you can pre-register under the following link: http://congresodelfuturo.cl/araucania/ and VIEW THE PROGRAM HERE.