Message from the President

This is an important year for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. One hundred and twenty five years ago, Thomas Alba Edison helped to establish what has become one of the largest and more important scientific societies in the world. But in the Caribbean Division we have additional reasons to celebrate, because twenty years ago, with Dr.Juan Bonnet as first president, we came to be the fourth division of the AAAS.

In commemoration of these events, the AAAS – Caribbean Division will be celebrating its first independent scientific meeting in many years. Throughout its history the Division has supported a variety of scientific activities, and we will continue to do so. Progress has been made during the last few years towards the inclusion of more members in the activities of the Division. This is not an easy task, given the geographical and political discontinuity of the regions that we serve. We expect that the inauguration of this web site will be an important step in that direction.

Through this web page we also expect to help bring the expertise of our members to the classroom, the municipal assemblies, and the lawmakers of the regions that we serve. Our ever more complex, industrial, and democratic societies face a great challenge: to educate an ever-growing population with opinions and decision power over subject matters alien to them. It is therefore of critical importance, that the scientific knowledge becomes as widely spread as possible. That is one of our main goals.

Sincerely,

Armando Rodríguez-Durán
President, Caribbean Division