Open science breaks down barriers in science and provides opportunities for a more diverse and inclusive research community.
However, researchers in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and other regions of the Global South looking to engage with open science often can’t access — or be trained in — the tools and software they need to drive their research forward.
To address these challenges, CZI partners with and supports research groups in Latin America with the long-term goal of supporting a more diverse, inclusive biomedical open science community.
In April 2023, we hosted a workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on accelerating open science in Latin America. This workshop aimed to enhance Latin American participation and collaboration in computational biomedicine and open science.
Explore the slideshow below to discover more about the event.
The open science event was CZI’s first-ever science meeting and workshop in Latin America. | Photo by Scott Murphy 
Dario Taraborelli, CZ Science program officer, and Laura Ación, MetaDocencia co-founder. | Photo by Scott Murphy 
Juan Pablo Alperin, Eunice Mercado-Lara, and Julieta Arancio gather before a group dinner. | Photo by Scott Murphy 
One of the key components of the workshop was the inclusion of virtual participants. | Photo by Scott Murphy 
The meeting was intentionally structured with ample work blocks and working sessions to encourage team collaboration. | Photo by Scott Murphy 
Laurel Ascenzi, María Nantón, Jesica Formoso are all leaders in building open science communities across the globe. | Photo by Scott Murphy 
The workshop had over 50 participants from over 10 countries representing different work in open science. | Photo by Scott Murphy. 
Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina.| Photo by Scott Murphy
Making open science a global endeavor in Latin America
The CZI Open Science program’s vision is the universal and immediate open sharing of all scientific knowledge, processes and outputs. But we know that in pursuing this vision, we need to intentionally include and empower scientific communities worldwide.
To increase global participation in open biomedical research, we provide capacity building and financial support to researchers in non-English speaking countries and low- and middle-income countries with limited access to this space.
We’re also focusing on convening global leaders to learn from each other, build connections and rapport, and find complementary areas of interest or research. This catalyzed the hosting of our first-ever science meeting and workshop in Latin America.
More than 50 attendees from over 10 countries came together for the event. Our attendees were coders, professors, community leaders, scientists, engineers, and so much more.
One of these attendees was Laura Ación, a research scientist at the National Research Council in Argentina, where she leads a multidisciplinary artificial intelligence and data science co-laboratory. With a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of Iowa, she works on topics related to the responsible use of data. She is an open science community builder who co-founded and leads MetaDocencia.
MetaDocencia’s team served as facilitators for the workshop. They were especially suited to this work, as their inclusive and collaborative community improves education by empowering instructors from Spanish-speaking countries.
Our dedication to the open source and open science community is just beginning. We will continue our efforts to enhance Latin American participation and collaboration in computational biomedicine and open science by supporting groups like MetaDocencia, and our other key collaborators.
This work is central to CZI’s commitment to supporting organizations and individuals across the globe.