UPS professor Blas Garzon Vera, PhD, presented his paper during the Third Symposium on Amazon History. This event was supported by the National Academy of Ecuadorian History and sponsored by the municipality of Gualaquiza. The topic covered during the event was "Los internados salesianos y sus repercusiones en la cultura shuar contemporánea" which is part of the Project ""Estudio de la Identidad Regional", which is the continuity of the book "La Presencia Salesiana en el Ecuador, perspectivas históricas y sociales" published in 2012 by the Abya Yala publishing house. 

The National Academy of Ecuadorian History promotes this type of events in order to learn about projects conducted on the Amazon region. One of the speakers at the event was Dr. Jorge Nuñez, President of the National Academy of Ecuadorian History, who presented the topic "Conquista y descubrimiento en la misteriosa provincia de Gualaquiza". 

During the event they also paid tribute to Dr. Paulina Ledergerber Crespo who was a renowned Ecuadorian archeologist and historian who worked in Gualaquiza for many years. 
The researchers who attended the event visited Bomboiza, a site serviced by the Salesian community, and then planned the next symposium which will help people to continue learning more about Ecuadorian history.