Florianópolis, December 4, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The minister of Science and Technology, Ronaldo Sardenberg, said that Brazil is the 17th country in the world in production volume of specialized articles and is responsible for 50% of Latin America's scientific and technological production. "In 20 years there has been a growth from 0.2% to 1.3% in the Brazilian production of articles, and number of new Ph.D.'s each year has grown six times in comparison with the decade of the '90's," said Sardenberg.

The minister took part today in the opening of the I Workshop of the International Network of Sources of Information and Knowledge in Science Management (SCienTI Network). Eleven countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Iberian Peninsula already belong to the Network, which is aimed at scientific exchange and application of the available knowledge in various areas. (DAS)