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Clara: the great step towards the integration of Mercosul

RNP’s General Director speaks about the importance of academic networks


“To this very day the Mercosul’s or South America’s researchers did not can make direct contact among them through Internet without using USA’s network. This will be possible in 2004 through the Clara network supported by Rede Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa (RNP), that will link all academic networks of the South America”.

It was with this speech that the Minister of Science and Technology of Brazil, Roberto Amaral, refers to the Cooperação Latino-Americana de Redes Avançadas (Clara – Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks) during the international seminary “Mercosul: Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação” (Mercosul: Science, Technology and Innovation) which has happened during 24 and 25 November in Rio de Janeiro. Clara is an initiative that has as main proposal the creation of a high-speed Internet network, linking universities and research centers of the 16 Latin-American member-countries.

The seminary has congregated representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela to discuss the scientific and technologic integration of Mercosul. The event organization was made by Recyt (Reunião Especializada em Ciência e Tecnologia do Mercosul – Specialized Meeting in Science and Technology of Mercosul) that has as aim to promote the scientific and technological development of the member-countries and acts in the international scenery participating of forums, specially Mercosul and Europe Union, about subjects related to Science and Technology.

RNP has participated of the panel of the last day with a speech about Clara, presented by the Planning and Management Director, Wilson Coury.

At the same day, Brazil was receiving another worldwide debate: the subject was higher education. The international seminary “Universidade XXI: Novos caminhos para a educação superior – o futuro em debate” (University XXI: New ways to higher education – the future in debate) has taken place in Brasília, between 25 and 27 November, attracting more than a thousand people including Ministers, Academic leaderships and masters from Europe, USA, Asia and South America. In this occasion the creation of a new university was discussed, more dynamic, internationally integrated and syntonized with the modern world.

At the same time the worldwide discussions were happening at Brazil, the Clara’s fate was being fixed in Costa Rica, during the meetings between the Clara’s and Alice’s (América Latina Interconectada com a Europa – Latin-America Interconnected to Europe) academic networks between 26 and 28 November.

Nelson Simões, diretor geral da RNP

In the following interview RNP’s General Director, Nelson Simões, talks about the results of these meetings, the advantages to Brazil in participating of Clara’s project as a leadership position, the importance of the academic networks and its role in the project of a new university.

RNP: What are the results of the meeting between Clara’s and Alice’s representatives?

Nelson Simões:The meeting achieved a great success in setting conditions and terms to the operational starting of the network in 2004. With the presence of practically all the 18 member-countries, the results obtained from the telecommunication services bidding were presented and the possible views to develop the network were evaluated. We also discussed a model of cost distribution among the national networks and each member has disclosed its desire of connection speed and term for linking.

Is there a defined date to initiate the network in 2004?

We expect starting in May with 6 countries, including the implementation of Latin American trunk and its direct interconnection to Europe. The countries that are not ready to activate their connections will be incorporated to the network possibly up to July 2004.

Is the next meeting defined?

It must happen after the network starting, in May, associated to the network-launching event.

What are the advantages to Brazil in participating of Clara through RNP?

We will develop an important role to integrate the research in our region. There is a great interest of research groups in several areas of Brazil for better conditions of communications and collaboration with their peers in Latin America and Europe. There are also projects that depend strongly on this connection to be developed, as for example of astronomy (Soar project – videoconference and assisted operation) and of high-energy physique (CMS project – computational grids). It will be also the first direct interconnection with the other Mercosul countries, improving directly other areas as Education, Health and Weather.

How Clara, using information and communication technologies, can help the cooperation process of Mercosul?

Several projects of Recyt will be supported by a direct and high-capacity interconnection among Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, from the regular use of videoconference among the institutions of these countries to distance programs of education.

In your opinion, what is the importance of the academic networks in the process of scientific collaboration among these countries?

The science was never a separated activity, made inside walls. Nowadays, more than sooner, there are problems that can be only solved by a collaborative, distributed and coordinated way. They involve a great amount of information, increased generation speed and high-performance research network to support the modern research.

Taking into account the probable adherence of Brazil to Alca and the dubiety related to the Mercosul’s fate in this context, how must Clara be viewed at this moment?

Clara has as a main challenge to assure the long-term support of the network. To do this, we must have strong regional cooperation and integration blocks and, mainly, the relevant results obtained from collaboration through the research networks.

In November, Brasília was the place of the international seminary “Universidade XXI” that had as aim to create a new university, integrated in a worldwide scale, in pace with the knowledge speed and with the requirements of the modern world. How do you see the role of the academic networks, mainly RNP, in this new university?

The research networks, the global Internet, are basic components of our information society. Our role, besides the connectivity, is to promote the application that can transform the interaction among people.

[RNP, 12.22.2003]

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