LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH GROWTH EXTENDED THROUGH NEW EU AGREEMENT UNTIL 2008

Cambridge, UK May 2007 – Collaboration between scientists and researchers in Latin America and their peers across the globe is to be continued through funding and network expansion. Co-funding from the European Union for the ALICE project, which is responsible for the RedCLARA network, has been extended until 2008. Additionally, regional not for profit organisation CLARA is expanding its role by increasing staff and taking greater responsibility for the running and administration of the network.

Since its creation in 2004, RedCLARA has become fundamental to Latin American research and education, now linking 12 countries and 750 universities across the continent at speeds of up to 622Mbps. It has provided Latin American scientists and researchers with the ability to collaborate both regionally and as part of the global research community, through links to the European GÉANT2 and US Internet2 research and education networks.

Current high profile collaborative projects span both academic research and educational/developmental areas. Astronomy projects such as EXPReS and AugerAccess are linking observatories in Chile and Argentina to partner institutions in Latin America and Europe, while the EELA grid computing initiative is sharing technical resources between the regions to enable faster solving of research problems. Students and teachers in the region are now benefiting from the @lis-TechNet project, which links partners in Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica with Italy, Spain and the UK to create an international virtual teaching environment. In e-health, the T@lemed initiative is bringing remote medical diagnosis and prescription services to isolated regions of Brazil and Colombia.

The extension of funding will enable CLARA to expand and build on this strong foundation. CLARA was originally created as a result of the ALICE project led by research networking organisation DANTE, to stimulate academic collaboration in Latin America. It will now gain greater independence through the expansion of its management team and by taking over responsibility for new network tenders. This growth is the logical next phase of building a sustainable regional research network community that is an integral part of global and local projects.

“We welcome the increasing role CLARA will play in managing and extending this vital research network,” said Dai Davies, general manager, DANTE. “However there is a real need to build on these successes, extending the network to ensure that the whole of the region reaps the benefits of research collaboration. Further funding beyond 2008 is needed to ensure that RedCLARA continues to grow and secure the sustainability of research and education networking in the region.”

The European Commission has supported Latin American research networking from the outset. As well as 80 per cent of funding, the EU has provided support, guidance and feedback through its @lis programme.

“ALICE has created a firm foundation for research and education in Latin America and demonstrated the benefits that close collaboration provide for global and regional development, benefiting the wider community through initiatives such as monitoring climate change, telemedicine and e-learning,” said Antonio Crespo, @lis programme co-ordinator, European Commission. “We see this work as a reference model for those beginning to build research communities in other geographical regions.”

Already linking 12 countries, project partners are aiming to deepen research collaboration with other Central American and Andean countries, extending the geographic reach of RedCLARA in the future. Additionally, to meet increased demand new links and Points of Presence (PoPs) are planned, whilst new technologies such as dark fibre are being investigated to deliver faster, more flexible services to users.

“Since connecting to the RedCLARA network in April 2005 we have seen significant benefits by being able to collaborate with our colleagues across the region,” said Joaquin Guerrero, former President, RAAP, Peru. “By working together in areas such as crop science we have been able to contribute to major regional initiatives. It has enabled researchers at the Universidad Agraria La Molina and the Centro Internacional de la Papa (International Potato Center) to exchange information without having to travel outside the country. We hope that these benefits can continue moving forward beyond 2008.”

About ALICE
The ALICE project has created RedCLARA –the first regional research and education network for Latin America. It not only connects regional researchers to each other, but it also connects them with their counterparts in Europe via GÉANT2, the world’s most advanced international research and education network, for increased collaboration. RedCLARA went live in 2004 and has stimulated the development of many National Research and Education Networks in the region. ALICE has 4 European and 19 Latin American partners, including the Latin American research networking association CLARA. Funding for the ALICE project has been extended until March 2008. For more information visit www.dante.net/alice

About DANTE:
DANTE is a non-profit organisation whose primary mission is to plan, build and manage research and education networks. Established in 1993, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of pan-European research and education networking. DANTE has built and operates GÉANT2 which provides the data communications infrastructure essential to the success of many research projects in Europe. DANTE is involved in worldwide initiatives to interconnect countries in other regions to one another and to GÉANT2. DANTE currently manages projects focused on the Mediterranean, Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions through the EUMEDCONNECT, ALICE and TEIN2 (Trans-Eurasia Information Network) projects respectively. For more information, please visit www.dante.net.

About CLARA:
CLARA is a non-profit organisation, recognised in 2003 as an International Civil Association under the Uruguayan law, and accepts as members National Research and Education Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean - LA-NRENs. The fundamental objective of CLARA is to integrate a regional telecommunications network -of the higher technology- to interconnect to the National Academic Networks of the region. Currently CLARA has 17 members, from the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The RedCLARA network, set up through the ALICE Project coordinated by DANTE, is administered by CLARA. For more information, please visit www.redclara.net.

Editorial contacts:
Chris Measures/Clodagh Boyle
Rainier PR (on behalf of DANTE)
+44(0)20 7494 6570
dante@rainierpr.co.uk