The development and benefits of the BELLA Programme (Building the Europe Link to Latin America) will be presented at the 'European Development Days' (EDD), which will take place on the 21st and 22nd of June, in Brussels, Belgium, with the theme “Global Gateway: Building Sustainable Partnerships for a Connected World”.

BELLA's stand at the Global Village will be E16-L, where those attending the event will be able to learn details about the development of the initiative and the benefits it will bring to research, connectivity and education in Europe and Latin America, in addition to the upcoming steps that the organizing networks plan for the project.

In a report published at the end of March 2022, the European Commission rated the BELLA project as “a remarkable step forward” that achieved its objective of “responding to the high-capacity long-term interconnectivity needs of European and Latin American education and research networks". The connection between Europe and Latin America is made through Portuguese and Brazilian territories, with stations in Sines and Fortaleza. The 6,000-kilometer cable is already in operation, after its official opening in June 2021.

In its terrestrial phase, BELLA completed the infrastructure of RedCLARA's terrestrial fiber optic network, with more than 34,000 kilometers, connecting users of the academic networks REUNA, in Chile, RNP, in Brazil and CEDIA, in Ecuador to BELLA-S and leaving the opportunity to activate or connect the academic networks of Panama, Colombia and Argentina in the short term is open.

EDD is Europe's leading forum for international partnerships. Organized by the European Commission, the forum brings together authorities and decision-makers to share ideas and experiences in order to inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.

For more information on EDD, please visit https://eudevdays.eu/

To learn more about the BELLA Program, please visit https://bella-programme.redclara.net/