Visit from Solène Chevalier

D uring her stay, Solène Chevalier met researchers from laboratories at the University of Guyana (MINEA, LEEISA, ECOFOG, ESPACE-DEV, QUALISUD, TBIP), the IRD and the IPG. These moments of sharing gave rise to rich exchanges. On this occasion, she presented to the scientific community the various financial mechanisms of the Horizon Europe framework programme, which devotes 95 billion euros to Research and Innovation for the period 2021-2027. She also focused on the various calls for projects under the Widening programme, which is specifically dedicated to the outermost regions.

Broadening participation by encouraging innovation

Horizon Europe is the European Union's framework programme for research and innovation for the period 2021-2027. The Horizon Europe programme follows on from Horizon 2020 by focusing on open science and access to research results and data. The transversal pillar of Horizon Europe aims to encourage activities that contribute to strengthening the research and innovation potential of Member States, Associated Countries and Outermost Regions, of which Guyana is a part. It aims to facilitate the implementation of concrete measures to support the strengthening of the European Research Area for countries or regions with the lowest participation rates in the Framework Programme.

Focus on Widening

The "Widening" dimension of the transversal pillar concerns the first two destinations or specific objectives:

• Destination 1 - Improving access to excellence.
  The aim is to develop a high-performance, competitive, fair and inclusive pan-European innovation and research ecosystem.
• Destination 2 - Attracting top talent.
  It aims to support the free movement of knowledge by attracting the best talent to Widening countries and regions.