FCT supports international collaborations – Observer

“The Foundation for Science and Technology will continue to ensure the participation of Portugal in international organizations,” he said Maria Armenia Carrondo, current president of the foundation. The words were uttered in the first public event in participating in this function. – Homage to Mariano Gago (1948-2015), which took place this Sunday at the Pavilion of Knowledge

A tribute to the man who “made the science policy a science “in the words of Gaspar Barreira, president of the Instrumentation Laboratory and Experimental Particle Physics (Lip), happened on the same day that celebrates the 30th anniversary of the accession of Portugal to CERN (European Council for Nuclear Research ). An event that began to be organized by Mariano Gago, Minister of Science that more time remained in government (1995-2002 and 2005-2011).

The accession to CERN was the first scientific cooperation agreement international established by Portugal. Currently we can count on the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory. This membership meant (and means) the payment of an annual fee.

To convince the government to pay a fee, which was always increasing the During the first ten years (more or less), was the main concern of Eduardo Arantes e Oliveira, who joined the office of Secretary of State for Scientific Research in November 1985. “I thought it was important enough to Portugal,” said . “The most important for Portugal was to enter these international labors. And not just for science, was the development of the Portuguese system in project consulting. “

Eduardo Arantes e Oliveira, former Secretary of State for Scientific Research, during the speech of tribute to Mariano Gago. In the background the signature photo of the accession agreement to CERN with Jaime Gama, at the time Minister of Foreign Affairs – DR

And the agreement that was established 30 years ago to CERN and later to other institutions has been maintained by successive governments, remember Gaspar Barreira. In the original agreement with CERN, Portugal managed to negotiate the payment of part of the plot to the international institution, pledging to implement the rest of the dimension value in scientific research and development industry. Year after year, the percentage paid effectively to CERN was increasing, but the investment in science and industry over these 12 years has borne fruit, remember Gaspar Barreira. Now is the Foundation for Science and Technology that ensures the participation of Portugal in international institutions upon payment of their national contribution.

The physical Mariano Gago, who had worked at CERN, was the big boost of Portugal accession to this international organization. A year later, in 1986, founded the Lip -. The Portuguese laboratory for collaboration with the European Council for Nuclear Research

But Mariano Gago is not only dedicated to research, or to science policy, valued also the promotion of science, because for him it was important that the company is perceived that there is an area of ​​technology resulting from the application of research in particle physics. So created the Living Science program, to bring science to the public, during one of the mandates as Minister of Science.

The auditorium that Sunday was named Mariano Gago is located in the Pavilion of Knowledge in Lisbon – one of Ciência Viva centers of the country. The auditorium while “serving space for discussion and presentation of new ideas” fulfills one of man’s ideas now gives it its name – “science has no boundaries” – refers Rosalia Vargas, director of the center. “Mariano Gago left us a legacy: science, like culture, is of all and for all.”