The 5th Edition of the Spring Iyaleta Open Courses Program, the annual cycle of scientific convergences promoted by the Iyaleta Research Association, will have as its central theme “Municipalization of Data: For Equitable Climate Adaptation in the Global South”. To start the activities, which will extend throughout spring, four international Open Conferences will be held, between September 22 and 25, bringing together researchers and investigators with outstanding trajectories in the areas of geography, global health, oceanography, and climate, and reproductive justice.
Registration for the Open Conferences is free and can be made between August 31 and September 16, through the Public Call Spring Iyaleta 01/2026, available on the Spring Iyaleta website. Among the Open Conferences, two will be held entirely online, with an offer of 400 free places each. The other two Conferences will be hybrid, with 350 places in online format and 50 in person at the Yemanjá Auditorium, in Hub Salvador, located in the Comércio neighborhood, in the city of Salvador.
The program will begin on September 22, at 2:30 PM, in a hybrid format (in-person and online), with the conference of the geographer from the University of Brasília (UnB), Prof. Dr. Rafael Sanzio Araújo dos Anjos, founder of the GEOAFRO Project and the first Afro-Brazilian full professor at UnB. He is one of the main researchers dedicated to the studies of geographical cartography about the Africa–Brazil Diaspora. The theme of the Open Conference will be “Territorial Planning and Geodescience: Data from Afro-Brazilian Cartography”.
On September 23, the dialogues will be held online, with the participation of the American lecturer Prof. Dr. Alice M. Kayongo. As a senior associate of the Center for Global Health Policy and Policies at Georgetown University, she has been conducting studies in favor of global health equity with a focus on communities for two decades. The researcher coordinates the STRIDE project (Structural Transformation against Racism, Inequality, and Discrimination), a multinational research project that analyzes exemplary cases in Bolivia, Brazil, Kenya, and Nepal. The Conference will have the theme “Structural transformation against racism, inequality, and discrimination: exemplary cases in Global Health”.
Also in online format, the third Open Conference will have the theme “Oceanic data of the South Atlantic in times of El Niño”, and will be presented by Prof. Dr. Regina Rodrigues, a member of the Oceanography Coordination of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and an international reference in research aimed at understanding climate variability and extreme events in South America and the South Atlantic. She coordinates the Atlantic Panel, the Research Group on Marine Heatwaves, and the Climate Risks Panel of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Furthermore, she was a reviewer editor of one of the special reports of the AR6 cycle of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations.
Finally, in a hybrid format (in-person and online), in the Hub Salvador auditorium, the fourth Open Conference will have the theme “Data and Reproductive Justice in the Global South”, with the participation of the senior researcher and coordinator of the Reproductive Justice and Health Laboratory (Lab-ReproJus) of the Iyaleta Research Association, Prof. Dr. Emanuelle Góes. A postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Data and Knowledge Integration for Health (Cidacs/Fiocruz/Bahia) and a visiting professor in the Postgraduate Program in Collective Health at the Institute of Collective Health (ISC-UFBA), she is one of the main national references in epidemiology for her intersectional studies on gender, reproductive justice, the health of the Black population, and inequalities with large volumes of data.
The objective of the 5th edition is to socialize scientific knowledge that strengthen local and global societies for a climate transition that places people at the center, that is, seeks to overcome inequalities of race, gender, generation, and territory.
About the Program
The Spring Iyaleta Open Courses Program is a scientific extension initiative developed by the Laboratory of Territorial Studies, Inequalities and Climate Change (Lab-SulGlobal) and carried out by the Academic Teaching and Extension Laboratory (Lab-Educação). The initiative integrates the third phase of the research project “Climate Adaptation: a Brazil 2030 intersection”, supported by the Climate and Society Institute (iCS), promoting the confluence between scientific production and territorial knowledge to strengthen capacities oriented towards the implementation of climate adaptation policies.
In addition to the Open Conferences cycle, the 5th edition will feature Open Courses, four of them in distance learning format and four training activities carried out directly in the territories of Salvador (BA), Lauro de Freitas (BA), Belém (PA), and Tracunhaém (PE). The proposal is to socialize knowledge as a way to municipalize data, strengthening technical capacities to implement, monitor, and evaluate climate adaptation strategies in public plans, projects, and policies in Brazil and other countries.
This edition has the institutional collaboration of Associação Sítio da Paz; Associação de Educação, Arte, Cultura e Agroecology Sítio Ágatha; LACLIMA Institute; Laboratório da Cidade; Espaço Cultural Vovó Conceição and Hub Salvador. It also has a collaborative network, of which are part the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA), the REDES Research Groups (ISC/UFBA) and Corpo, Discurso e Território (FAUFBA), the ELSA BRASIL Project (ISC/UFBA) and the CR2 – University of Chile. The Program has the institutional support of British Academic, GHP&P/Georgetown University and iCS.
Facts Only
* The 5th Edition of the Spring Iyaleta Open Courses Program centers on “Municipalization of Data: For Equitable Climate Adaptation in the Global South”.
* Four international Open Conferences occur between September 22 and 25.
* Registration is free and open from August 31 to September 16 via the Spring Iyaleta website.
* Two conferences are online-only (400 places each); two are hybrid (350 online, 50 in-person at Yemanjá Auditorium, Hub Salvador).
* Prof. Dr. Rafael Sanzio Araújo dos Anjos presents on “Territorial Planning and Geodescience: Data from Afro-Brazilian Cartography” on September 22 at 2:30 PM.
* Prof. Dr. Alice M. Kayongo presents on “Structural transformation against racism, inequality, and discrimination: exemplary cases in Global Health” on September 23.
* Prof. Dr. Regina Rodrigues presents on “Oceanic data of the South Atlantic in times of El Niño”.
* Prof. Dr. Emanuelle Góes presents on “Data and Reproductive Justice in the Global South”.
* The program includes four distance learning courses and four training activities in Salvador (BA), Lauro de Freitas (BA), Belém (PA), and Tracunhaém (PE).
* Iyaleta Research Association promotes the program, with support from the Climate and Society Institute (iCS) and collaborations with various associations and universities.
Executive Summary
The 5th Edition of the Spring Iyaleta Open Courses Program is a scientific extension initiative focused on the "Municipalization of Data" to foster equitable climate adaptation in the Global South. By integrating scientific production with territorial knowledge, the program seeks to socialize data to strengthen local capacities for implementing and monitoring climate policies. The core objective is a climate transition that prioritizes people and addresses systemic inequalities related to race, gender, generation, and territory.
The program's immediate activation consists of four international conferences held between September 22 and 25, featuring experts in geography, global health, oceanography, and reproductive justice. These events are supported by a network of academic institutions and NGOs, including the Climate and Society Institute (iCS) and Hub Salvador. Beyond the conferences, the initiative extends into specialized distance learning courses and field training across four Brazilian cities, bridging the gap between high-level research and local municipal application.
Full Take
This is a news announcement regarding an academic and social initiative; therefore, a skeptical lens is applied to examine the framing.
The strongest version of this narrative is that of a necessary democratization of science. By "municipalizing" data, the program attempts to move technical expertise out of ivory towers and into the hands of local administrators and marginalized communities who are most affected by climate change. It posits that climate adaptation is not merely a technical challenge of carbon or temperature, but a sociological challenge of equity and justice.
The narrative relies heavily on an intersectional paradigm, assuming that climate change cannot be solved without simultaneously addressing racism and gender inequality. This is a holistic approach that echoes the "Climate Justice" movement. The framing suggests that data itself is a tool of power, and that redistributing that data is a prerequisite for equitable survival in the Global South.
The implications for human agency are positive, as the program seeks to empower local actors. However, the second-order consequence is a high dependency on the continued funding and institutional support of entities like iCS and British Academic. The success of "municipalization" depends on whether local governments are willing or able to integrate this scientific knowledge into binding policy.
Patterns detected: none
Bridge Questions: How is the "municipalization" of data measured in terms of actual policy change? What happens when scientific data conflicts with traditional territorial knowledge?
Counterstrike Scan: A coordinated influence campaign would use this narrative to delegitimize traditional state science by claiming it is "inherently biased" or "exclusionary" to push a specific political agenda. The actual content does not match this; it focuses on adding inclusive layers to existing scientific frameworks rather than dismantling them.