We are proud to report that Dr. Marga Gual Soler committed herself to cooperate with the S4D4C project. Over the past five years, Marga pioneered a number of initiatives at the AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. to advance and elevate the critical role that science and technology play in policy, diplomacy, and society. In this role she led science diplomacy international programs and networks in partnership with governments, embassies, universities, international organisations, academies of sciences, NGOs, and many other institutions across the world. Some of her most exciting projects concluded over that time include:
- Produced the first-ever science diplomacy online course
- Published the first global landscape analysis of science-policy connection mechanisms
- Built the AAAS science diplomacy education and training portfolio, in partnership with the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), the Inter-American Institute of Global Change Research (IAI), the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), UNESCO, and many others.
- Co-developed the first science diplomacy course with the Mexican Diplomatic Academy
- Launched the Science Diplomacy Education Network, a platform bringing together educators and students interested in formal and informal science diplomacy education to advance the intellectual and practical foundations of educating about science diplomacy in higher education.
- Led AAAS Latin America engagement, including the implementation of the historic science cooperation agreement between the United States and Cuba
Since 2016, Marga is a member of the Research, Innovation and Science (RISE) expert high-level group advising EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, on the EU science diplomacy strategy. She also helped design the science diplomacy strategies of the governments of Spain and Panama.
Marga spoke at our S4D4C Madrid global conference last December and is a signatory of the Madrid Science Diplomacy Declaration. She agreed to contribute her in-depth expertise in science diplomacy and her extensive track record in science diplomacy training will be of great benefit to the S4D4C workshops and participants!
Marga is from Mallorca (Spain), holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from University of Queensland in Australia, a master’s degree from the University of Barcelona, and is alumna of the Georgetown Global Competitiveness Leadership Program. One of her biggest adventures of 2019 will be her participation in the largest all-women expedition to Antarctica to promote women’s leadership and visibility in science diplomacy and climate action – an endeavour you can support here.
