I had the honor to participate in two systems events in Latin America in the past 2 weeks. The first event at the end of October was the 4th Brazilian Systems Congress that took place in the city of Franca, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The second event in Mexico City, during first week of November, was the 3rd Regional Reunion of ALAS - the Association of Latin American Systems, where researchers from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba and Peru participated. My experience in these systems conferences is that they are very similar to family reunions: encounters of friends and colleagues in a warm and celebratory way.

These gatherings are valuable beyond the knowledge that is shared in formal presentations. The richness of these meetings come from the generative, learning, and strategic conversations that happens both within the structured sessions as well as in the unstructured spaces such as breaks, meals and social events. These are conversations that shape relationships that enable ongoing inquiry and collaboration beyond the special moments such as these events when we come together, face to face, as a community.

In addition to the intellectual stimulation, these reunions recharge our emotional batteries to continue our work as scholars-practitioners. Systems scholars are actively seeking to expand boundaries and integrate disciplines and cultures. They are building bridges between theory and practice, science and art, reason and emotion. The focus of their research address the complex and unique challenges of Latin America in a global context, such as poverty, social and economic development, justice and sustainability. Innovation was explored in a truly systemic context with social responsibility at the heart of the inquiry.

I was struck by the high quality of the research that is being done in Latin American countries. Historically, the work of systems sciences has been done in more developed countries and major works have been published in English. The strengthening of regional knowledge presented, discussed, and published in their languages —such as Portuguese and Spanish— is very important is we want the field of systems science to contribute to society and for systems thinking and practice to reach people in all forms of organizations and communities. As Ignacio Peón, President of ALAS, says, the “systemic virus” is spreading.

The Latin American regional network of people in the systems field has global roots. In both meetings, there was an emphasis in sharing the stories of the people that have created the pathways and influenced their work: who were their teachers, the thinkers that inform them, the part of the network where they have been active. This is an example of how systems thinking and practice is natural for Latin cultures, which are so inclined toward building relationships and making connections. These cultures are also incredibly graceful and grateful. There is a sense of abundance and generosity that make of the learning experience something truly memorable at the human level.

The role of dialogue in systems science was present both in the contents and in the practice of these meetings. Although there is still a tendency for the more traditional format of academic presentations, it was refreshing to see the recognition of the importance of dialogue and reflection as part of the evolution of this field. There is a huge opportunity to encourage and enable ongoing dialogue and collaboration beyond these face to face meetings: this is the promise of the new internet technologies that enable human interaction across time and space.

“We have two hands but one heart” said Enrique Herrscher from Argentina. There are many ways of doing but one care. That’s what the systems community manifest globally, and this is particularly true in Latin America.