SUMMARY
• An event was held in Ubatuba, Brazil during June 2015 to discuss the adoption of open science and provide visibility to regional initiatives using open and collaborative methodologies.
• The event showed how different aspects of open Science are integrated — and not just isolated parts covered by an umbrella term — when they are mobilized to respond to local development challenges and demands: from open hardware to participatory methodologies and approaches.
• The event represented an important step in terms of linking action purposes and research results in order to better understand the mutual feedbacks between science production and wider social needs and perspectives.
Ubatuba, a scenic location in the northern coast of São Paulo state in Brazil, was the spot in early June 2015 for Tropixel Ciência Aberta / Tropixel Open Science.
The main goal of Tropixel Open Science was to reflect upon and exchange experiences on the adoption of open and collaborative practices in projects oriented towards the production of knowledge. It also intended to give visibility to initiatives located in the region that have already use methodologies consistent with open and collaborative science. The event was organised by Tropixel Network and Ciência Aberta Ubatuba platform, as part of the sixth edition of Festival da Mata Atlântica – Floresta, Rios e Mar (Atlantic Forest Festival – Forest, Rivers and the Sea).
The event was composed of workshops, presentations and debates, as well as an experimental lab of free/open technologies. It had guests from Ubatuba, various regions of Brazil and other countries. About one hundred people attended the programme.
The programme featured two days of workshops on open scientific hardware in a technical school and offered by the Infoamazônia network; a panel of presentations and debates on open science experiences during an afternoon; and finally two days of the #mozsprint experimental lab, connected to Mozilla Science Global Sprint that took place globally on the same days.
WORKSHOP ON OPEN SCIENTIFIC HARDWARE
On June 1st and 2nd, Tropixel Ciência Aberta hosted a workshop offered by Guima-san and Gina Leite of Infoamazônia Network. The project was a finalist in the Google Challenge of Social Impact and is now developing a network of water quality sensors in Santarém, in the heart of Amazon Forest. Its members spoke about the project’s background – particularly Infoamazônia’s experience on generating and analyzing data that are used as a base for journalistic and informative content. They have demonstrated the use of a number of sensors, ranging from those commercially produced to DIY varieties. Also featured was an advanced prototype of Mãe d’Água, the equipment they are designing for the project, which connects different sensors in order to compose a snapshot of water quality in a given place and time.
Over the course of two days, workshop participants – a great part of whom were students from the local technical school – had the opportunity to make simple electric conductivity sensors, using affordable components (based on a project by Public Lab).
OPEN SCIENCE PANEL
On the 3rd of June, Tropixel Ciência Aberta took place in the premises of Ubatuba Aquarium. The Open Science Panel intended to offer a comprehensive perspective on the possibilities of open and collaborative practices for local projects related to the production of knowledge. With a particular focus on local and regional development, the panel had two sessions: Territory and Knowledge; and Open Borders.
Territory and Knowledge, chaired by Sarita Albagli (IBICT), had five presentations that discussed issues of participatory management, collective cartographies and traditional knowledge. Open Borders was chaired by Henrique Parra (Unifesp) and its five presentations explored ways in which science can relate to the education of children, social engagement, urban issues and the arts.
LAB #MOZSPRINT
The two final days of Tropixel Ciência Aberta were in the form of an open lab in which participants were able to exchange experiences and perform activities related to the development and application of tools and methodologies of open knowledge. The lab was also a part of the Mozilla Science Global Sprint, related to Mozilla Foundation and taking place simultaneously in different parts of the world.
The Tropixel Ciência Aberta Lab accomplished a lot. Including:
• A first survey on data about Ubatuba in scientific databases;
• Experiments with open hardware such as a rain machine and translation of weather descriptions on the Prediction Machine;
• Video interviews on themes related to open science with event guests;
• Collaborative editing of Open Science Guides in Portuguese, and
• A workshop on geoprocessing with free/open source software GIS
The event showed how different aspects of open Science are integrated — and not just isolated parts covered by an umbrella term — when they are mobilized to respond to local development challenges and demands: from open hardware to participatory methodologies and approaches. The event represented an important step in terms of linking action purposes and research results in order to better understand the mutual feedbacks between science production and wider social needs and perspectives.
RESOURCES
Further material from Tropixel Ciência Aberta can be found (though most of it only in Portuguese) on our:
• Wiki Page
• Flickr Album
• Video Playlist
This event was supported by IBICT (Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology) and OCSDNet (Open and Collaborative Science in Development Network), with funds from IDRC (International Development Research Center); the municipality of Ubatuba; Ubalab; Infoamazônia Network; Pimentalab, Liinc/IBICT-UFRJ and Ecotrip Hostel.
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