Fapespa participates in the Annual Meeting of the SBPC, an event that discusses science, technology, and innovation policy in Brazil
“Progress is science in all territories” is the theme of the 77th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC), in which the Amazon Foundation for Support of Studies and Research of Pará (Fapespa) is participating, taking place in Recife/PE, from July 13 to 19, 2025, at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE). The meeting brings together science, technology, and creativity projects with practical solutions for everyday life and playful arrangements for the dissemination of knowledge about science.
Fapespa, which celebrates its 18th anniversary this August, participates in the event through two major moments. One of them involves the presence of its scholarship researchers, funded in its projects, who registered individually to present their work. In another way, as an institution, Fapespa participates in relevant meetings discussing Brazil's Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, represented by its president, Marcel do Nascimento Botelho, who is also at the 77th SBPC as vice-president of the National Council of State Foundations for Research Support (CONFAP).
The organizers expect the meeting to attract around 20,000 people to the thematic spaces until Saturday, the 19th, when the program will conclude, including more than 200 free activities, such as lectures, round tables, panels, mini-courses, poster sessions, educational workshops, and interactive scientific exhibitions.
The thematic spaces of the event include SBPC Children, focusing on scientific initiation for children aged 1 to 6 years; SBPC Youth, with workshops, a robotics arena, a planetarium, a science fair, and even daily rocket launches; SBPC Women, a debate arena on science, gender, race, and social inequalities; SBPC Cultural, with artistic performances and gastronomy; and SBPC Afro-Indigenous, which brings together quilombola, indigenous, terreiro, and artisanal fishing leaders.
CONFAP at the SBPC
According to Marcel Botelho, CONFAP participates in the SBPC with a very clear proposal of synergy in the discussions at the event, understanding that it is necessary for all Brazilian biomes to be treated respectfully, and that science should be valued in each of these spaces for truly sustainable development in its socioeconomics, sociobiodiversity, respecting production needs while also respecting the conservation needs of these ecosystems.
“But for this, it is necessary to have synergies between both state and federal science and technology agencies so that the calls launched by these agencies, such as the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), and the Financing Agency for Studies and Projects (FINEP), observe regional asymmetries and provide fair funding,” warns Botelho.
He warns that “there is no climate justice without fair and equitable funding among Brazilian regions. In summary, this is what CONFAP brought to the SBPC, as its main banner for defending science, part of synergy, equity, and funding for science and technology in the country.”
Amazônia and Bioeconomy
Regarding the Amazon biome, Marcel Botelho understands that the region represents a significant scientific-technological challenge in promoting its socio-environmental development. For Botelho, bioeconomy will not be achieved without scientific advancement to better understand natural resources, improve production processes, and ensure a balance between production and conservation through sustainable agriculture, the use of natural resources, and the valorization of traditional knowledge.
“So this is what the science of the North means at this SBPC, bringing our visions and perspectives so that the Amazon not only has a voice but also an accent in the decision-making regarding its future. And in the state of Pará, Fapespa represents this arm of the government that promotes research projects, technological development, innovation, and entrepreneurship for sustainable development,” reinforces Marcel Botelho.
