Workshop
Towards a decolonized and impactful tropical biology research: initiating a methodological debate and discussion.
Monday, June 30, 2025 | 3:40 PM – 5:40 PM
Organizer(s):
Vinita Gowda, Louis Santiago, Sumita Chatterjee, Claudia Garnica Diaz, Jedediah Brodie, Farah Carrasco
Description
Recent scientific studies in the tropics and elsewhere have discussed the role of colonization as a factor in the progress of tropical biology and science. The workshop is projected to initiate discussion and collect thoughts and debate topics on some of the following points:
What are the factors that still display the effect of colonization in your everyday science?
What strategies can be used to have healthy, inclusive and fair environments for international researchers and/or students while navigating science in the global North or the global South?
Format: Presentation, and open discussion along with small surveys.
As part of the first question, a pre-determined set of factors will be presented to the participants to initiate active discussion, such as - the role of economics, age, gender, and the country's political history. We will also invite a few leaders within tropical biology and conservation who can openly share and discuss their experiences and thoughts on the above questions.
This workshop aims to create a safe space for participants to discuss their experiences and help us understand what societies and individuals in the tropics can do to help create better opportunities for equity, inclusiveness, and local diversity.
The workshop will also discuss inherent differences among people, cultures and geographies so that we can be mindful of them and learn to remove any power imbalances in research and collaboration. For this, we will also discuss the following:
1. Articulate our values (as an individual) within tropical biologists and explore how they
compare with our peers.
2. Articulate what diversity means to us as individuals and its characteristics and explore how they compare with our peers.
3. Understand how the intersections of diversity change as we move from one environment to
other, and how that plays a role in our understanding of safety.
Target audience:
PIs, students, researchers and community builders who are or have been engaging with global north and south tropical biologists, and want to learn how to collaborate better.
Program Outline
The time-wise breakdown of the workshop is given below:
1. Lecture (5 minutes)
Defining helicopter or parachute science, revisiting past and ongoing established long-term international collaborations and their norms, and the proposed principles to improve collaborations. Also, define the questions briefly that are mentioned above.
2. Guided session (90 minutes)
The group will participate in a series of interactive activities to encourage participants to think critically about the questions above.
3. Final remarks (10 minutes)
A quick summary of the result of the workshop’s activities.
4. Final summary
Participants will then be asked: What measures can ATBC take to improve inclusion and dispersal of science in the tropics and opportunities in your region?
Materials that participants need to bring:
Participants are not expected to bring anything.
