The First ALVO Congress and volcanology in the current Latin American situation

RODRÍGUEZ, L.A.; JÁCOME PAZ, M. P.; CABALLERO, L.; AGUSTO, M.; FORTE, P.; BUSTOS, E.; VALLEJO, S.; ESPINOZA, E.; PERALES, C.; CORDOBA, G.

Congreso; Cities on Volcanoes 11; 2022

IAVCEI

The 1st Congress of the Latin American Association of Volcanology (ALVO, by its Spanish acronym) took place on March 23 to 26, 2020, and was the first international conference held completely in virtual modality. The conference, with the title 1er Congreso ALVO: Volcanología en y para Latinoamérica, included 5 thematic sessions, divided in 30 scientific sections, with over 200 presentations (poster, oral, and plenary talks), as well as a photograph exhibit and a forum. The conference was originally scheduled for November 3 to 7, 2019, at Antofagasta, Chile. After the initial postponement, we decided to transform the rescheduling into an opportunity to further discuss the development of Latin American volcanology in the current regional social and political context. A virtual event, titled El 1er Congreso ALVO y la volcanología en el actual contexto Latinoamericano, took place on November 26, hosted by the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). It had a great reception and impact throughout the region, with the participation of approximately 110 people from all Latin America, plus volcanologists from the United States and Europe. The main focus of the event was to discuss several aspects of disaster risk reduction in the context of Latin America. The program consisted of short presentations as part of a discussion titled ?The volcanic risk and the social-political conflicts in Latin America?. This involved five invited speakers, including two volcanologists from Chile and Ecuador and three social scientists from Colombia, Mexico, and Ecuador. One of the main conclusions was the importance of continuing to work towards establishing a transdisciplinary dialogue that allows the integration of knowledge generated by the natural and social sciences as well as building bridges with communities considering their political context. This will then allow for a better understanding of the influence of social conflicts in volcanic risk management.