Time for the new flag in Cuba – Juventud Rebelde

This science is in everything, it traverses every space with its fingerprints and naturally integrates – to solve any challenge – in the life of society. That is the desire that drives many wills in Cuba, and that is reflected in it again in an exchange from the Palace of the Revolution focused on a system of government administration based on science and innovation.

This time it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) to present how this state body assumes the said management system, at a meeting presided over by the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Party Chairman. Republic Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, as well as by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and Deputy Prime Minister Ines Maria Chapman Wu.

In the voice of CITMA President, Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, attendees appreciated in detail how the ministry presupposes a vital administrative system for the country, not only within it but also in its actions and expectations that radiate benefits to society as a whole.

With a world of more than 11,200 workers, CITMA – according to its head – has credit scores drawn from its science and innovation tracks. Among them are fruits such as Tarea Vida, which constitutes “an example of the application of the scientific method to decision-making and the effective use of the integration of knowledge and scientific potential”.

Another achievement of CITMA is the Cuban meteorological radar with Doppler technology; Studies on risks, vulnerabilities and risks with a view to disaster reduction; Cuban Diagnostics of Magnetic RNA Magnetic Extraction with Nanotechnology; irradiation technology to sterilize swabs used in polymerase chain reaction assays; environmental regulation of the territories; ecosystem rehabilitation and coastal engineering; The Domestic Perspective of Human Development in Cuba; Among other things.

Voices from the scientific world followed the nuanced presentation that addressed achievements as well as discontent, which added ideas such that the transformation of a scientific system is not an isolated event but the summation of many actors and a goal that affects in multiple directions. In the same way, it was emphasized that there is no strategic axis of development that does not require the integration of social sciences. It is very important to join the scientific stock and talent, as well as to align universities with the needs of the state.

President of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, Dr. Luis Velázquez-Perez considered this process of the STEM “very important”, which “has been trying to implement for a long time”. He recalled 2012, when the Academy of Sciences talked about the need for these things; And today we already have all the legal bases for its implementation. ”

He emphasized that success “will be in the capacity that we can get for integration. It does not depend on a person or a ministry. It depends on our ability to integrate, from the various entities of the central state administration, from universities, from companies, from research centers.”

It is – as Luis Velázquez Perez defined – to facilitate the new science required in these times; He said, we are before a new time for science in Cuba, which expresses the continuity of Fidel’s ideas: “This stage undoubtedly connects science with the economy and with the development of society, in which we all have to put a part to be able to apply the realities that we all dream of.”

At the end of the meeting, the head of state stated that “in general, a different, more proactive dynamic has developed so that scientific research plays an essential role in the economic and social development of the country, but, as you have realized, we are left with a set of topics that need to be deepened.”

In this regard, President Diaz-Canel Bermúdez said: “I believe that we are still not satisfied with the interdependence that has been built for the appropriate relationship that must exist between the knowledge sector and the productive sector of goods and services, public administration, and land.”

The president recognized the sometimes remarkable presence of scholars, in places where decisions of importance to the country are made, where various programs or policies are analysed. However, he noted, “there are still loose links, and the demand for science from the business system, for example, is still lacking.”

On the other hand, the eminent figure analyzed, “At the national level we have made a range of spaces for the contribution of science to solve the complex problems of the country”; But the same, he said, should be developed in the same way at the level of provinces, municipalities and localities. The first secretary of the CPC Central Committee held that “the elements of strategic planning at those levels” are essential.

“If the topic of science and innovation management – ​​referred to – is not envisaged in the strategic planning of a province, municipality or at the local level, it will not be developed; first because it is not among the priorities. And second, because the structures necessary for this will not be created.”

Another dissatisfaction noted by the Cuban president relates to the fact that it is not yet known, as is necessary, what is actually regulated and which favors science and innovation: “I think, as he emphasized, that we should spend time; because it does not make sense that an institutional regulatory effort has been made. And it’s unknown.” This deficiency must be overcome to change perceptions that do not help.

“There is progress – analyzed by the head of state – in the participation of experts, academics and scientists, in the revitalization of technical advisory boards, and there is an important expression of the participation of academics, scientists and experts in all temporary groups working in the country by working on public policies, working on programs or programs or overall projects. He emphasized that the social sciences are in everything, but “we still don’t make good use of them, in a group of entities, experts and scientists.”

Diaz-Canel stressed that the issue is not just about placing experts on technical advisory boards, but about giving them appropriate treatment, encouraging them to participate appropriately, and ensuring the management process involved.

The Chair also spoke about interdisciplinarity, interconnectedness between sectors, and appropriate use of the role played by experts and academics – the essential sector of knowledge -. And everything in the meeting led to the idea that the most rigorous knowledge, that very valuable, must find favorable paths, a green light for intelligence to provide concrete answers to the challenges of Cuba today.

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