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Professor Elisa Reis

Member, Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and International Panel on Social Progress

CV

Elisa Reis is Professor of Political Sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ),… (more)

Elisa Reis is Professor of Political Sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and chair of the Interdisciplinary Research Network for the Study of Social Inequality (NIED).

She earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is fellow member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and fellow member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

She has received scholarships from the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq.), the Research Council of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), The Fulbright Commission, the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, among others, to carry out research in Brazil and elsewhere, and has a long list of publications in Brazilian and foreign periodicals. She has taught as visiting professor at the University of California at San Diego, Columbia University, MIT, and the Ludwig Maximilians Universitat, Munich.

In past years she was Vice-President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Secretary of the Brazilian Sociological Society (SBS), and President of the National Association for the Social Sciences (ANPOCS).

Before the creation of the International Science Council, Elisa Reis was Vice-President of the International Social Science Council (ISSC).

She is also part of the Coordination Council of the International Panel on Social Progress (www.ipsp.org).

Abstract

Abstract:
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      My presentation focuses on public trust in science, emphasizing that beyond the commitment of scientists as individuals, it is essential to have institutional support  and collective processes to build and sustain social confidence. I argue that scientists have a dual allegiance: as members of the borderless global scientific community and as situated actors within specific economic, cultural, social, and political contexts. These dual roles pose unique challenges in securing public trust.

      First, as participants in the universal "republic of science," scientists are called to uphold values that legitimize their practices from a public perspective—namely, social relevance and responsibility. By committing to these principles, science aligns itself with the principle

of justice, transforming its outputs into public goods.

      I then discuss the limits and opportunities faced by scientists as situated actors, especially in the Global South, where resource scarcity, political instability, and other factors complicate capacity building and effective public communication about the reliability of science.

      In conclusion, I contend that by reconciling their dual roles, scientists can better advance sustainable capacity building and improve public communication, helping the public understand and trust the unique contributions of scientific knowledge.