Team:Bolivia/Inclusivity


Bolivia | Inclusivity = Award

TEAM BOLIVIA

INCLUSIVITY AWARD

SPECIAL AWARDS

BEST INCLUSIVITY


Why iGEM Bolivia is interested in diversity and inclusion:

Located in the heart of South America, Bolivia shares a diverse range of ecosystems with its neighboring countries that include high plateaus, deserts, valleys and jungles. In addition to its rich ecological biodiversity, Bolivia is home to multicultural people who communicate primarily by speaking different indigenous languages of South America. This year, iGEM Bolivia worked diligently by using science communication to generate a positive impact on Bolivian society through the dissemination of information on synthetic biology and biotechnology. The organization’s objective was to produce educational videos in the native languages most used in Bolivia (Aymara, Quechua and Guarani), thereby aiming to create a science environment that is friendly and accessible to all of Bolivia’s people. Specifically, this activity broke the language barrier when communicating science in rural areas of the country and created new opportunities for poor regions to get interested in science, learn science and use it to solve problems within their respective communities.

What is the strategy that iGEM Bolivia USED to create an inclusive environment:

These videos explaining science in different native languages are something new in Bolivia. We created many videos and they have been posted on different platforms such as Youtube, Instagram and Facebook. Please visit our channels if you are interested in seeing more of our exciting work. For this wiki, we selected some videos related to synthetic biology. The videos were created with the help of young bolivians who are native speakers of the different native languages. We found these wonderful people in the universities studying linguistics and through social networks of influencers who tentatively teach native languages. The first step was to generate a simple script so that anyone would be able to understand the scientific topic, especially our presenter that did not have a scientific background. The second step was for the presenter to find their own style while also keeping in mind that this was a new concept for the audience. The third step was to edit every video and provide each with a unique characteristic in order to garner and maintain the target audience’s interest.



Measuring the impact of our work:

Because of our desire to have a large and lasting impact with our videos, we reached out to larger and more established communities and organizations by asking them to help share our videos. For example, we asked Mayor de San Andres University to participate and they responded by presenting our videos on their university television programs. Additionally, our videos were shown on a national program that has a large audience named Pica. We will continue in our efforts to find spaces for sharing these videos so that we may reach more people and increase visibility of this scientific information. We also got feedback from our audience to assess their understanding of the scientific topics addressed by the videos (data reflected in the pie charts below).

Impact Statistics

We sent out a survey to understand our target audience better and determine if the videos were effective in helping people who speak native Bolivian languages learn about the scientific topics being addressed. Results from the survey showed the following:





TEAM

The Inclusivity team has worked with more than 70 people serving at capacities that include players , advisors, coordinators, scriptwriters, translators, presenters and editors. While all of them come from different university careers, the inclusivity team also has the help of the broadcasting team in order to ensure ideal strategies to propagate viewings of all the videos on appropriate platforms.

TOPICS

Topics Aymara Quechua Guaraní
What is Biology?
What is the cell ?
What is Molecular Biology ?
What is the Genetic Code ?
What is Protein ?
What is Biotechnology ?
What is Biotechnology? Part 2
What is Vaccine ?
What is Vaccine ? Part 2
What is Biosensor ?
What is Biosensor ? Part 2

Videos In Aymara

The videos published in this section are all presented in the Aymara language. These teach concepts of biology through the lens of everyday life examples. This helps to generate a greater sense of understanding among Aymara-speakers. Each video has a simple explanation as well as an interesting fact that enriches the information being communicated.

Videos In Quechua

With the support of charismatic presenters, the videos in Quechua were well received by the different social network communities of iGEM Bolivia.

Something to highlight in the Quechua video section is that there are Quechua-speakers from different parts of the country. Because of this, appreciation for different accents belonging to various regions can be observed in all of the videos.

Videos In Guaraní

With regard to the videos in Guarani, we have the much appreciated help of a translator who also acts as a presenter. Due to the fact that this language was implemented towards the end of our cycle, we have a smaller number of videos.

Thanks to our volunteers, we were able to include the people of eastern Bolivia in our great project and therefore achieve greater reach and visibility.

PRESS COVERAGE

Two of our volunteers, Nicol Pacosillo and Clavel Condori, were interviewed on July 1st, 2021 on Aquí Estoy, a program on Radio El Deber that reaches the entire nation through social networks. In the interview with Linda Gonzales, the volunteers discussed the inclusion activities developed in our area and mentioned that the initiative was born with the objective of teaching scientific terms, which can be difficult to understand in a language other than the native tongue, through the use of simple language.

Presentation of educational videos during the interview
Interview
The presentation request was made to the UMSA TV station, within the BioFar TV program.
Presentation of videos in native languages- An interview carried out by Biofar TV

ACHIEVEMENTS

On August 13, the Inclusivity Award team visited the students of the Puerto Chaguaya Educational Unit in the department of La Paz. A presentation on the objectives of iGEM Bolivia was given and the Synthetic Biology video was shown in the Aymara language accompanied by complementary activities such as crossword puzzles for the students.

Puerto Chayagua Educational Unit
Director of the Educational Unit with our mascot Arsenito
Didactic material for students
Socialization with students