Ecolint - Newsletter.indd

world. Despite the worn out, almost
caricature-like image many people in
the First World still have about South
America, many things are happening
in the fields of science and the arts, and
the exchange of ideas and the sharing
of cultures and values is after all what
the true globalization is about.
Since last July I lead, at the Pontificia
Universidad Catolica Argentina a
new programme which includes
physicists, chemists, engineers and
meteorologists in an interdisciplinary
effort, which in the future will include
researchers from the Social Sciences
and Economy, in order to study
climate related global change issues in
an integral approach. A further goal
is to contribute to the development of
a scientific research tradition at this
university. A last and proud milestone,
my eldest son is starting to study
Architecture next month.
Since our return home I have been
active in what we call ‘extension’
activities. This means that as member
as CONICET we have to interact with
the media to inform society on our
research results. Since ozone depletion
and climate change are major
social issues down here (Chile and
Argentina share the dubious honor
of having each spring the Antartic
Ozone Hole fly over their southern
territories and populations). Thus I
won a national journalism prize back
in 1998 for a three part serial article
on the ozone issue. Occasionally
I also write opinion articles for La
Nacion, one of the major newspapers
in Spanish, referring to Science and
Technology and their role in society
and sustainable development, as well
as on environmental issues. Seeing
what we use in our research and
realizing how damning the current
trend is in the global society as well as
in its relation to the environment it is
impossible to remain quiet.
Together with camping and
photography (I always travel with my
camera), I continue with my passion
for trains. I am currently trying to start
work again, this time with my children,
on model railroading (CFF of course).
It has become terribly expensive but
then that is an added challenge to
manufacture everything yourself. As an
anti-stress activity, but as joint activity
with Mercedes as well, we have been
taking tango lessons for a while now.
To those who know me as a person
not very much in touch with bodily
activities this is probably surprising! It
is not the old Valentino style, nor the
stage version better known abroad. It
is the classic and popular Argentine
‘milonguero’ style, which is now
becoming known in far away places as
Japan, Finland or Germany. Tango is
undergoing a major rebirth here, and
it is a very pleasant way to exercise,
specially for couples. None of you can
imagine the pleasure of stretching a
crumpled backbone, to the rhythm
of Tango, embracing your wife, after
many hours in front of a computer
screen.
Bear with me through one more
important issue in recent years. During
December 2001 the level of years of
compounded political ineptitude,
together with the weight and pressure
of the questioned and questionable
foreign debt and the internal social
debt reached a dangerous level in
my country. In a surprising peaceful
civil uprising society forced many
changes, while respecting democracy,
and a new period began. Despite the
goodwill of the people, we came too
dangerously close to a civil war, but
somehow or other that was avoided. At
the time the UN Office in Argentina
and the Catholic Church launched
a special programme, known as the
Argentine Dialogue, to mediate and
promote the exchanges between the
different parts of our society and with
the politicians. Over the next year this
process evolved to the point that it is
now jointly chaired by over 40 social
organizations, including the Catholic
Church, Jewish organizations,
Protestant entities, Muslim communities,
human rights groups,
Argentine YMCA and YWCA, etc.
Specific consultative working groups
were created to develop, through
open democratic debate and social
consensus, blueprints for State Policies
on such diverse issues as housing,
judiciary reform, health, transparency
policies for political parties, etc. These
consensus based concepts represent
the baseline which all political parties
must engage to respect. Once major
guidelines are established the working
groups interact with the government
and national Congress to reach the
implementation phase. Progress at
this stage can be painfully slow as
many old political and business habits
die hard. For the first time presidential
debates, albeit non-televised,
were held in Argentina under the
sponsorship of the Dialogue. As
chair of the Science and Technology
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ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
working group I participated in many
of these town meetings. I must say it
has been a fascinating experience,
particularly since the debates were
co-chaired for example by a rabbi
and a sheik, a bishop and a rabbi or
a pastor and a sheik, etc, side by side,
in an example of mutual respect and
tolerance. Forcing politicians to try to
be transparent at least for a while was
interesting. The UN is studying the
evolution of this democratic tool and
is promoting its use in other countries
undergoing stress and crisis under
democratic systems. Last year the
Argentine Branch of the B’nia Brith
awarded the Argentine Dialogue
and its members their human rights
for their work in helping restore
democracy and its institutions in this
country.
The members of our working group
are active scientists, lawyers and
development economists with diverse
experience. We work with the various
science and technology models
currently operating in different
countries, in order to rebuild the
once excellent science tradition in
this country. We do not do this in
our free time for fun. We are mostly
overworked, underpaid researchers,
many of whom also teach at different
universities, doing research with
threadbare grants in order to compete
in the international arena. We do
this for the sake of a better country
and, why not, a better world, where
democracy and dialogue and real
tolerance can become a way of life,
and the respect for others a trademark
in a wide variety of activities, including
international affairs and maybe, some
day, even in the world of business.
Daydreaming May be...and so
After all, why not Let’s return to the
beginning of these lines: youth is not
so much about wealth or external
revamping through surgery, miracle
creams, botox, whatever. Youth is
about the heart and about being
happy with what one is, has and does.
It is about ideals, it is about caring, it is
about love. It is about always working
to make this a better place for us and
for others. Youth is about learning
from mistakes and failure and yet not
giving up. Youth is about opening new
and better paths.