In this beautiful event I’d like to bring your attention to the current situation of the world, especially in the context of science in the Global South. Most of the conversation are arguably are drawn to the north using northern standards, research assessment, languages, and customs.
It was like with the advancement of the internet era which was started as tool to demolish walls, we as scientists practically build more new virtual walls.
In Indonesia as well as in other Global South countries, research is valued on the language used and where it is published. A research that has followed the rules of academic integrity and produced various interesting results, will not be judged as quality research until it is written in English and published in a prestigious journal. #ResponsibleMetrics
On the other hand, the attention of the Global North is very large for "unique" countries such as Indonesia. However, the research results are in danger of being read only by fellow scientists and not by local people who have problems at first. We as scientists are clever in how to talk to our kind. At this point science communication is very important. #scicomm
As a joke, if I, as a hydrogeologist, come up with a solution to the catastrophic groundwater contamination of a village in Indonesia, the first person to read it may be a scientist living in London, working as a peer reviewer.
This condition must be changed immediately. It really depends on our will, as world scientists to be able to speak to each other in the central. Not in the north nor in the south, but in the central.
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