On 18th July, 2022, the official designation of the first National Scientific Council of Colombia took place at the presidential palace in Bogotá. The Council arose from the Mission of the Wise in 2019, and is made up of 10 experts who will offer advice to the national government to enhance scientific knowledge and research in the country.

Our Executive Director, Dr Andrés Osorio, was named Council Member for the area of knowledge of the oceans and hydrobiological resources. Dr Osorio is a civil engineer from the Universidad del Valle, Colombia, with a Masters and Doctorate in Marine Sciences and Technologies from the Universidad de Cantabria, Spain. He is currently a Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and is Director of the research group OCEANICOS on oceanography and coastal engineering of the same university. He has been CEMarin Executive Director since 2019.

After the ceremony, Dr Osorio stated: “It’s an honour to receive this appointment as a member of the National Scientific Council in the area of Oceans and Hydrobiological Resources. I hope to represent the interests of my scientific colleagues and to articulate the relationship with other social actors. And together, promote a country where the decisions on the fair and sustainable use of our resources are based on scientific evidence. Thank you to all my colleagues, students and family for their support.”

From the whole CEMarin team, we send Dr Osorio our congratulations and we will accompany him in this new challenge to ensure the well-being and protection of the oceans at the highest level of public policy in Colombia.

If you speak Spanish, we invite you to learn more about the Mission of the Wise and the key points of the different work areas that make up the roadmap for the National Scientific Council here.

You can watch the complete transmission of the appointment ceremony of the National Scientific Council below.