The year of 2021 was very challenging due to the sanitary conditions and the severe restrictions faced by citizens from all over the world. In-person events and lectures were cancelled with the objective of providing safety conditions to everyone.

Despite the restrictions considering in-person events, IEEE ComSoc Latin America supported our members and chapter chairs with the organization of several virtual Distinguished Lectures and Distinguished Speakers lectures during 2021. A total of 30 virtual Distinguished Lectures were presented and 8 lectures from the Regional Speaker Program were also presented virtually.

Different chapters from Latin America were interested in hosting a distinguished lecture. Those lectures, with ComSoc Distinguished Lecturers, helped to reduce the distance between our members and top researchers presenting new and emerging topics in different fields of communications.

The following ComSoc chapters organized virtual distinguished lectures during 2021: Uruguay chapter (6 virtual lectures); Argentine chapter (5 virtual lectures); Peru chapter (5 virtual lectures); Ecuador chapter (3 virtual lectures); Chile chapter (3 virtual lectures); Panama chapter (2 virtual lectures); Colombia chapter (2 virtual lectures); Bolivia chapter (2 virtual lectures); Morelos chapter (1 virtual lecture); Northeast Brazil chapter (1 virtual lecture). Each virtual lecture session was promoted by the ComSoc Latin America Board as well as by the organizing chapter chairs.

Additionally, the Regional Speaker Program in Latin America organized 8 different lectures with renowned lectures from the entire South America and Central America region, reaching other relevant topics and attracting a significative audience with those virtual lectures. During the year of 2021, speakers from Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador presented excellent and motivating lectures to ComSoc members from Latin America (and all around the world).

Based on the successful experience in 2021, IEEE ComSoc Latin America expected to continue with the Distinguished Lecturer and Distinguished Speaker programs during the next years.

Contact: Prof. Fabrício Braga Soares de Carvalho, D.Sc., IEEE Senior Member, DLT and DSP Coordinator — IEEE ComSoc Latin America — e-mail: fabricio.braga@ieee.org