Front Row Seats for Panama’s Entry into Science Diplomacy
By Rolando A. Gittens and Sandra López-Vergès
Panama is a small country in Central America famous for its coffee and Canal. Panama City, its capital, often takes first-time visitors by surprise with its skyscrapers and luxury lifestyle, juxtaposed with an aged infrastructure and poor neighborhoods lacking consistent basic services like water and solid waste management. In the last decade, Panama has experienced an exciting period of growth while it simultaneously struggles to address some important discrepancies. The country has one of the strongest economies in Central America and the Caribbean, but also has among one of the largest socioeconomic inequalities on the continent. Panama was recently named an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank, but it still has one of the lowest percentages of GDP invested in research and development (R&D) of the region. One of the many reasons for these discrepancies lies in the disconnection between decision-makers, national scientists and researchers, which is reflected in the limited role of locally-generated science in the arenas of public policy and diplomacy.
Until about a year ago, we — the authors — had never even heard about the field of science diplomacy. This was the case for most researchers, diplomats, and policy-makers in our country even though as scientists we were already working on several initiatives (*see below for specific programs and partnerships) that were part of its broad definition. Panama also had a few pioneers within the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT, its acronym in Spanish) who had already identified exciting opportunities related to science diplomacy. It was thanks to their support that we were selected to participate in the AAAS Science Diplomacy and Leadership Workshop in 2017. We experienced an amazing week in Washington D.C., surrounded by international science diplomacy experts who gave us a crash course on the role of science and technology to address global challenges.
It was an wonderful experience to represent Panama together with participants from South, Central and North America, Europe and Africa, and explore how science can be put to the service of society and decision-makers — as well as how policy and diplomacy can help develop scientific multinational projects.
Panama has been timidly investing in science and technology for the last 20 years; however, only recently has the country started to see the true impact with the arrival of hundreds of Panamanians trained abroad at the PhD level and more R&D projects financed by the government to answer local, global, and academic questions. This scientific tide is coinciding with the desire of current Panamanian government to align important national and international strategic plans with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is compelling political leaders to build bridges with this nascent scientific community.
Our training at AAAS equipped us to serve as interlocutors in this process. And so, here we are today, in the front row of something truly important for Panama.
The Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIRE) launched its official National Strategy for Science Diplomacy, Technology and Innovation on August 16, 2018, to celebrate the Day of the Diplomat. H.E. Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, Vice President and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Panama, opened the event, which included expert panelists from the scientific community, various Panamanian ministries, as well as NASA and AAAS.
Preparations to develop the strategy started months before and brought to the table representatives of key government ministries (MIRE, SENACYT, Environment, Energy), and academic and research institutions in the country to define common priorities. Such cross-sector, trans-disciplinary meetings are not common even for a small country like Panama, and coming together to think about this new idea of science diplomacy offered the perfect opportunity to promote collaboration and learn how to speak the same language.
Our presentation during the initial work meeting about Panama’s Science Week 2018 and the role of science diplomacy in this and other initiatives, helped set the tone and contributed to aligning Panama’s priorities to the three core dimensions of science diplomacy. This first interaction also led MIRE to request us in July 2018 to deliver an introductory science diplomacy course and an overview of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) system in Panama, for this year’s Third Secretary graduates from the Diplomatic Academy.
This signals the beginning of what is to come and allowed us the privilege to serve as pioneers for science diplomacy in our country.
Eager to share these successful experiences with the Latin American region and the rest of the world, we are planning a number of science diplomacy activities during the 2nd Latin American Open Science Forum (Foro CILAC 2018) in October 2018, with the support of SENACYT, UNESCO and our research institutions. The goal of CILAC is “to strategically influence the design of scientific policies and the decision-making processes in our region, through the promotion of dialogue between science, politics and citizenship, valuing the ethics of sustainable development”. In collaboration with SENACYT and the AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy, we will organize a science diplomacy workshop contextualized to the Latin America and Caribbean ecosystem, bringing together experts to introduce the concept to local and foreign government employees, researchers, professors, diplomats and policy makers; present examples of science diplomacy mechanisms and actors in the region; and discuss how it can help achieve the SDGs.
These initiatives represent an important point in the development of science in Panama and its institutional use for evidence-based decision-making.
Like a sprouting seed, it requires the appropriate conditions to succeed: a stable economy; a modest, yet continuous investment in the STI system; a growing, productive scientific community still in its infancy but aspiring to reach critical mass; and decision-makers ready to put their trust in young and not-so young scientists ready to make a change. Our Foreign Ministry, with the help of SENACYT, is taking the leadership in Panama to put science and knowledge into foreign policy, even before other public institutions are even thinking of evidence-informed public policy. Although not logical or traditional, this may be the path for sustainable scientific development for a small tropical country in which many global environmental and social problems are translated into local problems: climate change and rising ocean levels, water availability and distribution, land and water biodiversity hotspot, energy sustainability, and infectious and non-communicable diseases.
Thanks to our geopolitical strategic position and connectivity, investing in science diplomacy in Panama can help us get better seats at the international table, become a scientific, technological and economic hub, and facilitate alliances that strengthen national, regional and global prosperity and sustainable development. Panama’s job now is to make sure that this interest in closing the gap between science, public policy and diplomacy is not temporary or politicized and will be nurtured and strengthened in the long-run, regardless of the uncertainties ahead.
*Specific science diplomacy-related initiatives (from above):
- INDICASAT-ICGEB partnership for Regional Research Center
- Gorgas-IBM partnership for mosquito-borne outbreak monitoring app
- Panama-India bilateral commitment for setting up a Center for Biodiversity and Drug Discovery [valued at US$ 10 million] and a Center for Innovation & Technology [valued at US$ 15 million]
Maritime science initiatives (en español):
- https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/nacion/panama-salva-las-ballenas-podran-dispositivos-barcos-que-entran-al-canal
- https://www.prensa.com/salud_y_ciencia/ballenas_jorobadas-canal_de_panama-dispositivo-colision-barcos-instituto_smithsonian_0_4089341067.html
About the authors:
Sandra López-Vergès, member of Global Young Academy (GYA), Health Researcher in Virology and Immunology at Gorgas Memorial Research Institute of Health Studies (ICGES), Panama, Rep. of Panama.
Rolando A. Gittens, TWAS-ROLAC Affiliated Member, Research Engineer in Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine at INDICASAT AIP, Panama, Rep. of Panama.
Both authors are members of the Panamanian Association for the Advancement of Science (APANAC) and the movement #CienciaEnPanama
Text edited by Kim Portmess, INDICASAT AIP, Panama, Rep. of Panama.
