After few meetings in 2018 between professors, students, and practitioners, the Society for Social Studies of Science and Technology (CTS Ecuador) was legally constitued.
The founding members were: María Belén Albornoz (FLACSO professor), Andrea Salazar (Ministry of Education Media Coordinator), Isarelis Pérez (FLACSO PhD Student), Gaudys L. Sanclemente (FLACSO PhD Student), Fernando Herrera (EPN professor), and Antonio Franco (EPN professor).
CTS Ecuador was launched by Belén Albornoz at the First International Seminar organized by Kaleidos in Cuenca. It was of paramount importance for the Society to have Kim Fortun, Elizabeth Roberts, and Jospeh Dumit as keynote speakers. It was deeply appreciated that Kim Fortun, president of 4S, traveled to Ecuador and helped to boost interest for STS across the country. Her support to the project was a key element for institutionally stabilizing Kaleidos at University of Cuenca, and CTS LAB at FLACSO. Jorge Núñez, Maka Suárez, and Israel Idrovo made this event a memorable moment for the Ecuadorian STS.
https://www.4sonline.org/blog/post/a_kaleidoscopic_vision_of_sts_in_cuenca_ecuador
By March 2019, twenty-one new members were included: Andrés Domínguez (Edimburg University), Daniel Vizuete (FLACSO), José David Gómez (Edimburg University), Manuel Trujillo (FLACSO graduate), Melani Peláez (Freiburg University), Jaqueline Gaybor (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Juan Carlos López (Universidad Técnica del Norte), Valentina Ramos (EPN professor), Carla Estrella (Salamanca University PhD student), Julio García (University of Vienna graduate), Jorge Nuñez (FLACSO-Kaleidos professor), Maka Suárez (Kaleidos professor), Michelle Ruíz (Humboldt University), Ximena Campoverde, Henry Chávez (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales graduate), Maribel Maya (ESPE), Mónica Bustamante (FLACSO), Ángel Gutiérrez (FLACSO graduate), Javier Jiménez (Universidad de los Andes, Colombia professor), Sofía Cabrera (UTE professor), Patricio Trujillo (SENESCYT).
The First Ecuadorian STS Meeting, “Thinking about the relationship between Science, Technology and Society in Ecuador,” took place from April 11-12. The meeting invited international speakers such as Noela Invernizzi, president of ESOCITE; Rigas Arvanitis, researcher director of the Institut de Recherche pur le développement; and Rosalba Casas, former president of ESOCITE and professor at UNAM, México.
