Consul Alexandra Mias and the Institut Pasteur de São Paulo’s Director, Paola Minoprio, highlighted the French-Brazilian partnership in the evening, which brought together authorities and awarded young scientists.
Celebration, memories, and reconnaissance marked Monday’s (20) evening, at the French consular house, in São Paulo, where the Consul General of France, Alexandra Mias, received authorities, researchers, and guests in a cocktail party that sealed the first day of the international forum “Global Health in Tropical Regions: Perspectives from Latin America and West Africa in a Changing World – French Contributions”. Held by the Institut Pasteur in São Paulo (IPSP), the event, which runs until 10/22, has gathered representatives from France, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), and Rede Pasteur.
In her speech, Alexandra Mias highlighted France’s historic commitment to health promotion as a fundamental right, and with international cooperation in science and technology. She recalled that the new Brazil-France Strategic Partnership Action Plan, signed in March 2024, prioritizes health collaboration between the two countries. The Consul also emphasized that the establishment of the Institut Pasteur de São Paulo, based at USP, is a symbol of this partnership.
“The Institute witnesses the intellectual trust and intimacy uniting France and Brazil – particularly São Paulo and USP,” stated Mias. “It represents a great advance in the battle against infectious diseases as well as in the public health protection, in a context in which sanitary crises are increasingly complex.”
Mia has also stressed that IPSP’s presence strengthens the international Pasteur institutes’ network, allowing the science to move forward, serving humanity, with solidarity and innovation.
Next, the IPPSP’s CEO, Paola Minoprio, recalled the institute’s journey since its inception in 2014. She described the process of creation as “a Brazilian-style Pasteurian adventure”, marked by challenges, resilience, and collective work. “There were years of dreams and stubbornness. I was, at the same time, a researcher, an architect, a lawyer, and I even accompanied President Macron’s security team during a visit to the Institute”, added the hostess of the forum, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Minoprio made a point of acknowledging the role of Professor Luís Carlos Sousa Ferreira, from the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas at USP, who, together with her, coordinated the Pasteur-USP Scientific Platform – an intermediate and decisive step in the establishment of the Institut Pasteur de São Paulo. Looking forward, she expressed pride in seeing the IPSP growth, become organized, and assert itself. She highlighted the committed and talented teams that make up the institute, capable of addressing public health’s significant contemporary challenges.
Among those attending were Thaís Vieira, director of Esalq/USP; Hervé Bourhy, director of the Global Health Department at Institut Pasteur de Paris who represented the Scientific Board of the IPSP; and São Paulo’s State Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation, Vahan Agopyan. The event also featured representatives from the French Embassy, USP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Rede Pasteur, as well as IPSP’s researchers and participants in the Amazonian School on Global Health.
The cocktail party marked an award ceremony honoring three young researchers who stood out in their presentations on the first day of the forum. Ana Luísa Moraes Octaviano received the award for best poster, Sávio Zanon was the recipient of another award for best oral presentation, and Gabriela Paludo won third place in the innovation category. The atmosphere of fellowship and recognition marked the end of a day that reinforced ties between the French Republic and the Federative Republic of Brazil and celebrated the new generation of scientists committed to global health.