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A meeting framework for inclusive and sustainable science

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 668–671 (2020)Cite this article

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The ABCD conference format (All continents, Balanced gender, low Carbon transport, Diverse backgrounds) mixes live-streamed and pre-recorded talks with in-person ones to reflect a diverse range of viewpoints and reduce the environmental footprint of meetings while also lowering barriers to inclusiveness.

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Fig. 1: The ABCD conference format featuring examples of the World Biodiversity Forum contributors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the University of Zurich Research Priority Programme on Global Change and Biodiversity (URPP GCB) for organizing the World Biodiversity Forum and hosting our session, as well as all attendees of the session for their comments, contributions and openness to this new format. Funding is from the University of Zurich URPP GCB and the Swiss National Science Foundation Grant No. 31003A_173074 to F.A. and Swiss National Science Foundation Grant No. CRSII5_183566 / 1 to O.S.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Ole Seehausen, Florian Altermatt.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Rosetta C. Blackman & Florian Altermatt

  2. Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Rosetta C. Blackman & Florian Altermatt

  3. Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Andreas Bruder

  4. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Francis J. Burdon

  5. British Antarctic Survey, NERC, Cambridge, UK

    Peter Convey

  6. Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    W. Chris Funk

  7. Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Department of Ecosystem Research, Berlin, Germany

    Sonja C. Jähnig

  8. Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Mary Alphonce Kishe

  9. Laboratory of Aquatic Insect Ecology, Universidade Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Brazil

    Marcelo S. Moretti

  10. National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), Jinja, Uganda

    Vianny Natugonza

  11. Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jan Pawlowski

  12. Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot, Poland

    Jan Pawlowski

  13. ID-Gene ecodiagnostics, Campus Biotech Innovation Park, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jan Pawlowski

  14. School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Rachel Stubbington

  15. School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

    Xiaowei Zhang

  16. Department of Fish Ecology & Evolution, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

    Ole Seehausen

  17. Division of Aquatic Ecology & Evolution, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Ole Seehausen

Authors
  1. Rosetta C. Blackman
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  2. Andreas Bruder
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  3. Francis J. Burdon
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  4. Peter Convey
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  5. W. Chris Funk
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  6. Sonja C. Jähnig
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  7. Mary Alphonce Kishe
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  8. Marcelo S. Moretti
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  9. Vianny Natugonza
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  10. Jan Pawlowski
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  11. Rachel Stubbington
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  12. Xiaowei Zhang
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  13. Ole Seehausen
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  14. Florian Altermatt
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Contributions

R.C.B., O.S. and F.A. developed the ABCD format, organized, and hosted a session using the format at the World Biodiversity Forum with R.C.B., A.B., F.J.B., P.C., W.C.F., S.C.J., M.A.K., M.S.M., V.N., J.P., R.S. and X.Z. as speakers. R.C.B., O.S. and F.A. wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and A.B., F.J.B., P.C., W.C.F., S.C.J., M.A.K., M.S.M., V.N., J.P., R.S. and X.Z. contributed to it. R.C.B., O.S. and F.A. wrote the final version of the manuscript. All authors approved this final version. R.C.B. produced the figure.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ole Seehausen or Florian Altermatt.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Blackman, R.C., Bruder, A., Burdon, F.J. et al. A meeting framework for inclusive and sustainable science. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 668–671 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1190-x

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