[Coral-List] Open call for action on equity and inclusiveness to ICRS22

[César Augusto Marcelino Mendes Cordeiro]

Dear Elisa,

I couldn't agree more with you! You speak for many that remained silent,
including me. Despite all claims about costs related to the event
organization, it is segregative to apply costs as elevated as those
indicated for the ICRS. In 2020 and 2021 I had organized together with a
very dedicated team of young scientists the Brazilian Reef Meeting which
had the participation of more than 2000 subscribers for both editions and a
large audience from the non-academic public. You can check our website (
https://encontrorecifalbr.wixsite.com/encontrorecifalbr/erebra2020) and
YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOYtak-JfzC0DOos0dAvoZA).
Unfortunately, they are only in Portuguese. The event was completely
virtual and free of charge. Still, we had the presence of renowned
scientists, and we had a good engagement of marine and coastal stakeholders
and the general public. I'm not saying that the ICRS should take the same
route, but it is possible to make a great meeting, bringing high-quality
information and debate to a larger audience in a more inclusive way,
especially in the Ocean Decade. Open science is not only about publishing
open data and open access papers, but leveraging access to best practices
in science - from information to infrastructure. That is a long debate, but
anyway, I'd be very happy to exchange ideas and experiences with colleagues
(especially from lower-middle income countries) about building up a more
accessible meeting model.

All the best,

Cesar Cordeiro