UDP Internacional

20 March 2024

Within the framework of the activities for International Women’s Day, the General Directorate of International Relations (DGRRII), the Australian embassy in Chile and the Jane Goodall Institute held, in the auditorium of the Nicanor Parra Library, the talk “The Engineering to help the biodiversity of the planet.”

The activity was developed in order to encourage the UDP community to generate positive actions against the care of biodiversity, animal trafficking and the climate crisis, among other issues. The meeting featured presentations by Polly Cevallos, director of the Jane Goodall Institute in Australia and Alexandra Guerra, executive director of the entity in Chile.

Anoek van den Berg, General Director of International Relations, highlighted the holding of this event and pointed out that these dialogues “give a concrete example of how important it is to inspire young people to achieve their goals.”

For his part, Scott Bennett, director of Education Business Development at the Australian Embassy in Chile, expressed that the UDP is an important partner in the dissemination of environmental issues. “We are delighted to support the link with universities, schools and colleges so that young people become aware of the challenges we have to face and hopefully get involved. The green economy is one of the pillars of the Australian government, so it is essential for us to support these initiatives,” he said.

During the talk, the professionals of the Jane Goodall Institute presented their work at the entity, whose work focuses on wildlife research, the conservation of species and their environment; and citizen awareness and sustainable development.

In that sense, Polly Cevallos expressed that it is essential that the disciplines be put at the service of conservation. “We need them. “We all have to do something because we are part of the earth,” she stressed.

“The students are going to be the leaders of tomorrow. So, it is important to address these issues. The decisions we make have positive or negative impacts. So, we invite you to participate in our Roots & Shoots program, where you can collaborate with us to generate positive impacts on the planet,” she added.

In turn, Alexandra Guerra valued the possibility of bringing this dialogue to the University: “These are extremely important spaces, because we have the possibility of bringing these issues to students who are in training and who, tomorrow, will make decisions.” (…). We are nature and, deep down, we must act today to have a better planet in the future.”

This activity also aims at the internationalization of the UDP community, the axis of the DGRII that, through various instances, seeks to connect the intellectual project of the University with its environment and the global challenges of our time.