The Network builds new ties with the Ateneo of the Argentine Rural Society

Supported by an Australian Government grant, the Ateneo SRA —the youth leadership school of the Argentine Rural Society— toured several Australian cities to build lasting ties with young farmers' associations, learn about Australian production methods and how its institutions work, and help make Australia and Argentina strategic partners.

The Ateneo of the Argentine Rural Society is a group with members from across the country and a strong commitment to the rural sector. It brings together young people trained in technical, policy, industry, social and cultural matters so they can develop a broad and critical view of the sector. They work in networks with many actors across the economy, locally, regionally and internationally. Their shared goal is to train future leaders.

Beyond these aims, the project funded by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs sought to keep diversifying and increasing young people's participation in every aspect of agricultural production. Along the way, three Ateneo representatives met members of the Network of Argentine Scientists in Australia on several occasions.

The first major meeting took place on the University of Sydney campus, where the delegates (María Victoria Ehret, Guido Raimundi and Manuel Etchevehere) exchanged views and experiences with Network members Luciano Adrián González, José Augusto Imaz and Nicolás Lyons. Warmly welcomed, the young leaders learned about the Australian dairy industry and its technology, and visited the university's rotary robotic dairy. They also learned how the transfer of new technologies is evolving —technologies increasingly adopted on livestock farms— and about those still under research.

In Canberra they were welcomed by Juan Pablo Guerschman (Scientific Coordinator of the Network) and Luciana Porfirio (CSIRO researcher), who showed them around the city. The day ended with an asado and a long conversation on many topics, including the research each of them was doing at CSIRO. The group also met the diplomatic team at the Argentine Embassy and toured the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT) and CSIRO's Black Mountain laboratories.

After activities in Rockhampton and Toowoomba, the delegates met Network members again in Brisbane. At a networking lunch with Researchers in Agriculture for International Development (RAID), CSIRO researcher María de la Paz Vila welcomed the Argentine group, talked about our institutions and showed them around the University of Queensland.

Keen to stay in touch with the Network, the delegates returned home highly motivated to share everything they had learned from its members, recognising teamwork as key to institutional progress, economic growth and technological innovation.