Last week we traveled to Querétaro, Mexico so I could participate in the Mid-Year Conference for the Interamerican Foundation’s (IAF) PhD fellowship program. There are 15 other students in the fellowship program at various stages in their grassroots development related research projects throughout Latin America. It was really inspiring to hear about everyone’s work. Many of the students are working in challenging environments and topical areas than- from Central American migration in Mexico to the Colombian peace process to the implementation of reparations for political violence in Peru, it was great to exchange ideas with this group of people from diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.
Even though the Integrative Conservation program at UGA is structured to facilitate interactions between social and biophysical scientists, most of the intensive interactions and discussions take place during the first year of the program. It was really stimulating to have these interactions again, but with students that are much further advanced in their courses of study and from different disciplinary backgrounds. We had some rich discussions on activism in academia, balancing desires to contribute to our partner organizations with the need to progress on our own projects, ways to promote autonomy rather than dependency in grassroots development projects, the politics of scale, and ways in which state power has inserted itself into allegedly grassroots projects. Coming from an Ecology department, these conversations definitely pushed my boundaries and challenged me to zoom out a few steps further in my analysis of conservation interventions.
We also got to spend time (both formally and informally) with the IAF’s Academic Review Committee. They were the ones that nominated all of us to receive the fellowship, so naturally they are a fantastic group of people. Having been in the field for about a month, it was a good time to get feedback about my progress so far and the evolution in my plans since I’ve been in the field. I got some good advice on my upcoming focus groups, sampling strategies for my surveys, and preparing myself for life after graduate school.
Luckily, we didn’t stay cooped up in a conference room all week. We also got to visit one of the IAF’s projects in Querétaro, La Unión de Esfuerzos para el Campo (UDEC). UDEC works with 71 communities in the area to support economic development through a savings & loan program and providing technical and financial assistance with the sustainable development of farms, backyard gardens and small businesses. We got to hear about their work, visit a backyard garden, and of course, eat some tasty Mexican food!
And as with any good conference, we finished the week off with some good food and beverages. I especially enjoyed sampling some excellent mezcal, which was served with clamato (tomato juice flavored with spices and clam broth) on the side. As usual, Baby Reed made some new friends.
Overall, a great week with new friends and colleagues!
