NewsPanama hosts first international seminar and workshop of RIUCI bamboo
Key presentations on bamboo research from 18 experts were delivered at the Confucius Institute of the University of Panama documenting a spurt of interest in the field.
Under the theme of “Research advances in bamboo,” the First International Seminar of the International Network of Universities and Research Centers related to bamboo (RIUCI bamboo) was held on 27 July 2023 at the facilities of the Confucius Institute of the University of Panama. In total, 40 attendees from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, Mexico, Panama and the United States participated in the landmark event.
This event was held within the framework of the project “Support for Research, Development, Innovation and Higher Education in Sustainable Construction,” financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and implemented by INBAR.
The conference included the participation of 18 researchers with extensive experience working with bamboo. Topics presented on included the current situation and perspectives of bamboo in the Dominican Republic; native bamboo species in Mexico; advances and research challenges in the evaluation and monitoring of bamboo; the possibility of using Andean and Amazonian bamboo in Peru for sustainable construction; design and analysis of bamboo beams in Ecuador; the new ISO standard for bamboo structural design; and more.
Jorge Augusto Montoya during his presentation spoke on the exciting new bamboo research facility under construction.
During the presentations, Marilyn Rojas from the National University of Costa Rica spoke about the nutritional value of edible bamboo shoots compared to other products. Jorge Augusto Montoya from the Technological University of Pereira delivered an update on the progress of the Technological Development Center for Wood and Bamboo in Colombia. “In my country, we are now building a research center with many possibilities for research and development,” he added.
On the second day of the meeting, a network planning and strengthening workshop was held, addressing strategic issues for joint collaboration. Topics discussed included the possibility of generating a virtual portfolio of international bamboo research and accurately defining various joint actions to ensure the sustainable mission of RIUCI bamboo stakeholders.
On the second day of activities, a workshop was held by members of the network management team to identify common goals and strengthen cooperative endeavors.
RIUCI bamboo promotes research around bamboo, exchange between researchers, teachers and students, and the dissemination of scientific information that contributes to the development of bamboo in different areas.
