Science Engagement and Public Communication Officer, Journal of Latin American Sciences and Culture (JLASC)
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Science and culture are the driving forces behind the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and hold the key to settling Bolivia’s historic educational and technological debt to the nation, according to Prof. Dr. Marco A. Cabero Z., director of the Journal of Latin American Sciences and Culture (JLASC).
Dr. Cabero delivered these remarks during a lecture on June 3 at 7:00 p.m. (GMT-4) to members of the Bolivian Navy’s Postgraduate School (Escuela de Posgrado de la Armada Boliviana, or EPAB).
The academic gathering was attended by senior military officials, including Captain Pablo Omar Villanueva Zapata, Head of the Department of Naval Education and Training; Captain Julio César Barrios Granados, Director of EPAB; and Commander Edson Fidel Vargas Calani, among other 100 participants.
During the event, Dr. Cabero highlighted the armed forces’ critical role as indispensable strategic actors in sustainable development. He called on the military officers in attendance to reflect on the fact that naval excellence is achieved through continuous learning, comprehensive training, and institutional leadership.
“Education is the most powerful weapon to transform an institution,” he said.
Dr. Cabero also drew attention to the Declaration on Science and Climate Literacy for Latin America and the Caribbean, a regional initiative championed by JLASC, Universidad Privada del Valle (UNIVALLE), and the Andean Road Countries for Science and Technology (ARCST). The Declaration was first issued in 2021 and has been updated since then, at the Annual Meeting on Science and Climate Literacy, convened in Bolivia.
According to Dr. Cabero, this landmark Declaration reinforces the role of the Bolivian Navy as a protector of ecosystems and a guardian of scientific knowledge along the country’s borders and national waters. It also enables the nation to exercise what he called “climate sovereignty” through a deep understanding of Bolivia’s environmental realities.
In the second part of the lecture, Dr. Cabero outlined three pillars for the Navy’s future: integrating military activities with educational responsibilities; using documentation as the foundation for knowledge inquiry; and empowering every service member to serve as an ambassador in promoting scientific knowledge.
He also discussed the connection with what are known as Active Learning Methodologies, in which the learner becomes the center of the teaching and learning process, while the teacher assumes the role of a guide and a creator of knowledge, not only knowledge that is absorbed, but also knowledge constructed through academic research.
With the provocative question, “What use is knowledge if no one else knows it?”, Dr. Cabero invited the officers to venture into writing and publishing scientific articles. He challenged the misconception that building a scientific culture is a task reserved exclusively for the natural sciences, offering concrete examples such as the educational tool Biopochito AI. Developed by ARCST, the Unidad Central del Valle del Cauca, and the International Green Science Center for Latin America and the Caribbean (IGSCLAC), the platform has reached more than 100,000 students in ten countries.
Dr. Cabero concluded by emphasizing that every professional, from their own field, has something to share with society and can contribute to the well‑being of humanity – knowledge that can be disseminated to others and endure over time as a mark of a meaningful passage through this world. The lecture was followed by a lively question‑and‑answer session between the speaker and the attending officers.
The audience was also invited to explore these topics further through the podcast “Voices of Science”, a production of Univalle Online, ARCST, JLASC, and the Strategic and Digital Communication program at UNIVALLE’s La Paz campus. The podcast is a global dialogue exploring how science, culture, and diplomacy converge to build a more sustainable future. It is available on YouTube and Facebook.
To learn more about JLASC and how to publish, visit:
https://revistas.univalle.edu/index.php/jlsc
Those wishing to receive more information about publishing in JLASC or participating in future academic activities are encouraged to write to: editorial@journalasc.org.