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UNESCO co-organises international colloquium on the right to science and knowledge systems in the Chilean Constitutional Process
The role of women in science, the incorporation of ancestral knowledge from Indigenous peoples, bioethics, environmental protection, and climate change are some of the topics that will be addressed at the “III International Colloquium on the Right to Science and Knowledge Systems in the Constitutional Process,” which will take place on June 8 and 9 at the main auditorium of the Alberto Hurtado University in Santiago.
This event, co-organized by the UNESCO Office in Chile, the International Institute for Philosophy and Social Studies (IIPSS), the Centre for Applied Ethics Studies at the University of Chile (CEDEA), and the Constitutional Research Centre of the Alberto Hurtado University (UAH), will be a space for debating the role of science and its challenges in the ongoing constitutional debate.
The right to science and knowledge systems linked to scientific progress are recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by various international recommendations. This is why Claudia Uribe, representative of the UNESCO Office in Chile, states that “This colloquium is an opportunity to guide institutional change processes like those currently underway in the country, allowing us to identify principles and guarantees that inform the national discussion regarding the importance of enshrining these rights in the future constitution.”
For the Vice President of the Constitutional Convention, Gaspar Domínguez, “it is very important to discuss these issues that have also been present in the constitutional debate and are especially related to innovation. I invite you to participate in these activities to critically engage with these topics and thus imagine and design a better future.”
Science offers solutions to everyday life challenges and helps us address humanity’s great mysteries. In other words, it is one of the most important paths to knowledge. However, to access this knowledge, its study must proceed in an inclusive, open manner, with a gender perspective and a multicultural vision to build a shared and representative worldview.
“Alongside the constitutional debate, several key concepts for thinking about the new Chile have emerged, such as plurinationality and cultural rights. All these ideas have a history and, at the same time, are making history. This colloquium is an invitation to reflect on how theory and knowledge are fundamental resources for building a fair and equitable society,” said Tomás Peters, President of the International Institute for Philosophy and Social Studies (IIPSS).
Among the invited members of the Constitutional Convention will be Cristina Dorador, Vanessa Hoppe, Margarita Vargas, and Loreto Vidal. Joining them at the event will be academics, activists, and authorities, such as the Governor of Valparaíso, Rodrigo Mundaca; Andrea Vera, academic at the University of Valparaíso; Constanza Silva, STEM activist from the Tremendas Collective; Ezio Costa, academic at the University of Chile and Executive Director of NGO FIMA; Pilar Moraga, Director of the Centre for Environmental Law at the University of Chile and Deputy Director of the Climate Science and Resilience Centre; Jessica Cayupi Llancaleo, spokesperson for the Mapuche Women’s Network and member of the Indigenous Women Lawyers Association (ABOIN); Antonia Rivas, researcher at the Intercultural and Indigenous Studies Centre (CIIR); Ricardo Camargo, academic at the University of Chile; and Jaime Rodríguez Alba, academic at Siglo 21 University in Argentina.
The event will not be limited to in-person attendance, as it will also be streamed live through the and the digital platforms of Alberto Hurtado University.
