RedCLARA Launches!

The ALICE project has created the RedCLARA network, linking together researchers in the countries of Latin America for the first time, and has implemented a link between RedCLARA and GÉANT to support collaboration between researchers in Latin America and Europe.

To celebrate these achievements, an ALICE launch event for the RedCLARA network took place on 23 November 2004, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The launch formed part of the 3rd Latin America and the Caribbean – European Union Ministerial Forum on the Information Society: An Alliance for Social Cohesion through Digital Inclusion.

The launch of the ALICE project was one of the highlights of the Forum.  The results of the ALICE project are a concrete example of how communications technology can directly improve the quality of life for citizens, and helps reduce the differential between the living standards experienced by citizens in different parts of Latin America.

Fabio Colasanti, Director-General of DG Information Society of the European Commission, spoke of the boost given to the Latin American region by RedCLARA and its connection to GÉANT.

These benefits include:

• Its profound effect on the opportunities available to the region’s researchers.
• Its contribution to developing and retaining a pool of academic talent in Latin America.
• The resulting ability to attract new research facilities.
• The stimulation of spin-off activities such as commercial start-ups and knowledge transfer throughout society. 

Nelson Simões, Fabio Colasanti and Dai Davies at the launch of RedCLARA Presentations were given by Dai Davies, of DANTE, and by Nelson Simões from CLARA.  Dai highlighted the achievements ALICE has produced in such a short space of time. In only two years, ALICE has put in place in Latin America the technical organisation in research networking, the equivalent of which took over ten years to achieve in Europe. Nelson noted that RedCLARA has impacts on all levels of science and society, from small local projects, to large-scale collaboration on regional themes. Especially important will be the research on matters of particular Latin American interest, including the El-Niño effect and the loss of biodiversity in the Amazon.

The launch was further supported by a joint ALICE-CLARA-DANTE-RNP exhibition stand at which demonstrations were operated showing the capabilities of the network. These included trans-Atlantic high-definition television and applications of the EGEE Grid project which demonstrate remote reservation and use of networked resources.