Send message to Authors

Poster Short Abstract

The Brazilian Citizen Science Network (RBCC) decentralizes debates dominated by Euro-American frameworks, promoting inclusive, Latin American perspectives. By fostering open governance and valuing diverse knowledge, it reimagines citizen science from the Global South.

Poster Abstract

The Brazilian Citizen Science Network (RBCC) was founded in 2021 as a collective initiative to foster dialogue, cooperation, and critical reflection on citizen science in Latin America, beyond the Euro-American frameworks that often dominate the field. Anchored in Brazil but regionally oriented, RBCC has consolidated itself as a network that connects academic institutions, civil society, and public agencies, while promoting diverse epistemologies and practices.

Through open governance, the Network has established a Council with rotating leadership (2023–2025; 2025–2027), developed strategic plans, and facilitated democratic participation in its decision-making processes. Its initiatives include training courses, such as the UFABC outreach course on the ethical and epistemological dilemmas of citizen science, which is explicitly decolonial-oriented and calls for inclusive, context-sensitive approaches. Moreover, RBCC has advanced institutional dialogues with public health, education, and environmental sectors, aligning citizen science with urgent societal challenges in the Global South.

By promoting transparency (e.g., through publicly available governance documents), knowledge co-production, and critical debates on power asymmetries, RBCC contributes to rebalancing the global discussion of citizen science. The Network demonstrates how citizen science can serve as a bridge between centres and peripheries, not only geographically but epistemologically, by valuing Indigenous knowledge systems, community practices, and historically marginalized voices.

We argue that RBCC exemplifies how citizen science can be reimagined from the South, reshaping global narratives and fostering more equitable and plural forms of knowledge production.