São Paulo, Brazil, 8 November 2017: The Belmont Forum Executive Council agreed by consensus, at its meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, on 7 November 2017, to accept the bid submitted by the IAI Directorate to host its Secretariat in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Belmont Forum members agreed with the IAI Directorate that the hosting of its Secretariat would be mutually beneficial, provide needed expertise to both organizations and increase funding opportunities related to global change in the Americas.
The Belmont Forum’s partnership of funding organizations, international science councils, and regional consortia committed to the advancement of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary science complements exceptionally well the IAI’s mission to support multinational, collaborative and interdisciplinary research on global environmental change. The Americas will gain much from this enhanced relationship.
Speaking on the results of the meeting, Dr. Maria Uhle, Co-Chair of the Belmont Forum and Chair of the IAI Executive Council, stated that “Hosting the Belmont Forum Secretariat in Montevideo will increase the visibility of the Forum while also providing greater opportunities for the establishment of collaborative scientific projects among countries in the Americas. We look forward to joint work with the IAI and our other partners in activities to enhance the collaborative networks in the Americas.”
Dr. Gilberto Câmara, Co-chair of the Belmont Forum, added that “collaborative multinational transdisciplinary research provide the best tools to meet the urgent challenges posed by global change. This new relationship between the Belmont Forum and the IAI Directorate will offer many new opportunities for collaborative research and enhancement of scientific networks throughout the Americas.”
The IAI Directorate believes that hosting the Belmont Forum Secretariat will bring much needed capability in reaching out to donors and funding agencies and also offer its Member Countries new opportunities for the establishment of collaborative initiatives. “Such expertise is invaluable in supporting efforts to establish a flexible collaborative funding mechanism for the Americas,” said Dr. Marcos Regis da Silva, Executive Director of the IAI.
Preparations are underway to welcome the Belmont Forum in early 2018. The IAI Directorate is grateful to members of the Belmont Forum for its confidence in the IAI and to Uruguay for supporting its bid to host the Secretariat. The Secretariat is excited to join IAI in Montevideo and to begin realizing our mutual goals.
Belmont Forum Plenary 2017 Participants
