Empowering Diverse Faith Communities through Engagement in People-Powered Research

Racism and discrimination continue to be prevalent in scientific culture. People-powered research (aka. citizen or community science) enables people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, cultures, and religions, to participate in research in the sciences and humanities. It helps form partnerships that empower underserved people to become collaborators in the quest for knowledge, ensure that science and its applications are responsive to the concerns and priorities of all people, and help equip future leaders with the knowledge and skills to face 21st century challenges. This session presents the results of a project to engage diverse faith communities in research using the popular Zooniverse platform. The session demonstrates ways participants can contribute to a wide array of internet-based research projects, and facilitate discussion among participants on developing strategies to engage their communities in meaningful ways, either online or through in-person community-based projects.