La Rioja, Spain, May 13th-16th, 2025
As a member of the organizing committee of the event, between May 13th and 16th, 2025 Professor Dan Grigorescu took part in the International Congress on “Romance Languages in the Study of Dinosaurs: A Revolution in Science” (Las languas romances y los dinosaurios: una revolucion en la ciencia) held in San Millán de la Cogolla in the province of La Rioja (Spain) and organized by the Government and University of La Rioja in collaboration with the Rioja Institute of Studies and the San Millán de la Cogolla Foundation. The conference was attended by palaeontologists specializing in the study of dinosaurs from countries with Romance languages: Spanish, Catalan, French, Swiss French (Romansh), Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Argentine, and Romanian, who gave their presentations either in plenary sessions or online.
In addition to Professor Dan Grigorescu (Institute for Advanced Studies in Levantine Culture and Civilization), the Congress’ organizing committee included Professor Giuseppe Leonardi (Scientific Research Council of Brazil), Professor Ismar de Sousa Carvalho (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Professor Félix Pérez-Lorente (University of La Rioja, Spain), Professor Leonardo Salgado (National University of Río Negro, Argentina), and Professor Fidel Torcida Fernández (Salas de los Infantes Dinosaur Museum, Spain). The participants presented an extensive series of papers on paleontological topics, with Professor Dan Grigorescu's contribution titled Dinosaurs and their world – supporting the development of communities in the ‘Țara Hațegului’ region, Transylvania, Romania.
The International Congress’ primary aim was to support linguistic plurality in scientific research in general and in dinosaur studies in particular, in the face of the monopoly of American English, which currently underpins all major criteria for evaluating the quality of scientific researchers and of their output.
At the end of the event, the participants issued a Manifesto emphasizing that
"Romance languages remain a channel of expression whose validity is demonstrated by the quantity and lengthy tradition of published research. The researchers gathered for this conference wish to support the development of Romance languages and prevent the loss of this immense scientific and cultural heritage. Romance languages allow for the accurate expression of concepts and situations which the rigidity of a single language renders difficult, if not impossible.
The conference participants support and defend the Romance languages as legitimate and valuable channels of scientific production, through which researchers can express themselves in their own language, a form of expression that is more precise and better rooted in their culture. We, the participants in the conference, recognize the importance of our scientific literature, past and present, and express our concern about the gradual disappearance of the means of expression of scientific studies in Romance or Latin languages. [...]
‘Academic impact’ is the main criterion currently used to evaluate scientific research and scholarship, and it is primarily measured by publications in English. Although this language effectively fulfils the role of a universal means of communication, it nevertheless tends to erase the expressive richness and individuality specific to Romance languages. In conventionally-accepted academic parlance, the meaning of words is altered, thus opening the way to misinterpretations. The variability of expressions, syntax, and even the meaning of each word may change from one language to another. English translations of works in Romance languages all face this problem, both directly and indirectly, inevitably leading to the distortion of our own mother tongues [...]
Today, publications in Romance languages are not being valued at their true potential, in spite of their relevance to all fields of knowledge. We understand that a universal language is useful as a means of communication between the planet’s inhabitants, but we defend the plurality of forms of expression as a source of richness, offering different perspectives, nuances, and irreplaceable knowledge. [...]
The participants to the present Conference support these ideas, that that may germinate, grow, and contribute to the development of linguistic plurality in a field that is so dear to us: the expression of our scientific output in the Romance languages, with their strong traditions and distinctive nuances."
The conference’s two days dedicated to presentations and addresses from the participants were followed by two days of visits and excursions throughout the La Rioja region, including visits to the monasteries of Suso (6th century) and Yuso (11th century), roughly translated as the “Upper” and “Lower” Monasteries of San Millan de la Cognola, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997. The particular importance of the Monastery of Suso is closely linked to its preservation of the oldest written documents in early Spanish, Catalan, and Basque.
Moreover, since La Rioja is a Spanish province renowned for the quality of its wine, the program also included a visit to a modern winery that exports wine all across the globe.
The excursions also included visits to palaeontological sites that preserve the footprints of certain species of dinosaurs, both carnivore and herbivore, designated as natural and cultural heritage sites of provincial and national importance. These sites are very well organized, with scientific information and suggestions for the development of geological and ecological education available for visitors, especially for students and pupils. The way in which the heritage sites visited during these trips were presented coincided with the holistic approach to heritage that Professor Dan Grigorescu recently presented at the vernissage of the Levant Institute’s exhibition at the National Geological Museum, titled The Natural and Cultural Heritage of Dobrogea.
Unfortunately, however, with regard to the development and protection of national and universal heritage sites, the realities of Dobrogea in particular and of Romania in general are diametrically opposed to those in La Rioja and the other provinces of Spain.
