Building the EU BEACON One Health education excellence network
A quick note on why our ethical governance, communication tasks, and open systems matter for the future of health education
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Summary: despite family and systemic abuses and deliberate obstruction, my work at EU BEACON building an excellence network in One Health Education persists, backed by almost a million euros in COST funding for the next four years, to equip today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders and citizens.
This all is barely the foundation for much more meaningful and impactful work. Over the past months I have been laying the foundation as officer of communications, dissemination, and exploitation for the EU BEACON One Health Education COST action. This has been hard, not because of the inherent difficulty of the tasks at hand at all, but because it has taken place in a context of hatred where my life was and is still loathed. Where abuses are systematic, where many are ready to destroy others shamelessly for a few rupiah or euros, and where education in both schools and homes too often promotes hatred instead of dignity and the most basic human rights. In such an environment, building a network that promotes open science, knowledge, and human cooperation becomes not just work but a tour de force. What should be promoted and celebrated as being in the best interest of all has instead been made harsh and almost impossible, obstructed by harassment and systemic cruelty. Life itself becomes unbearable at the hands of those, mislead by criminality made to be normality.
This destructive environment -from the E.U. to Indonesia- has already impeded yet another round of successful Horizon proposals and delayed much of the work that was underway, preventing it from being completed on time. Yet, despite these obstacles, the work has not stopped. Now, working from a safer environment with the support of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, my current host institution, I can focus on finishing my dissertation, preparing for the defense of my doctoral thesis, and continuing to deliver the urgently needed contributions of EU BEACON. Yet, safer does not mean free from hostility, as those who despise life itself remain, free. It does provide a better position from which to keep building, teaching, and helping, though. For that I am deeply thankful.
As you know, EU BEACON, the action I founded during years of torture, has been awarded about a quarter million euros per year by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) program to build a network of excellence over the next four years. COST does not fund individual research projects but instead provides the resources to create strong networks that bring together researchers, educators, and innovators across the entire COST Area. This is exactly what is needed to mentor and connect people, to create durable infrastructures for collaboration, and to prepare our societies for the challenges ahead. This is my, our work. Over the next four years the network will deliver:
• Mentoring and funded scientific missions to connect and empower researchers at all stages
• Development of open source tools for health and education, ensuring transparent and ethical innovation
• Creation of open courseware to support teachers, students, and professionals with high quality accessible resources
• Implementation of new One Health curricula EU wide and globally, embedding the interconnected approach to human, animal, and environmental health in education systems
We are also introducing our internal governance system based on Consul Democracy, which will allow all members to participate directly in decision making, in the open review of proposals, and in collective debates. Alongside this we are implementing our project management suite on LeanTime, giving every work group a transparent and collaborative way to plan, track, and deliver tasks. Both are open source systems, fully customized for our Action, and together they will ensure that openness, fairness, and inclusivity are daily practices and not just ideals. A major media launch is being prepared, including a new media kit, a presentation video, and a complete rehaul of our website where these systems will be integrated.
Tens of thousands of contacts are already ready to receive these updates and the network grows every day. I am proud of this all being on track, despite best efforts by those moved by hatred, corruption and crime disguised as lawfulness, morals, tradition and religiosity, all but a facade of hatred posing as goodness.
This work matters because one health education is no longer optional, but a human imperative. Students of today must be equipped with the skills, knowledge, and values to become tomorrow’s leaders. They must be able citizens, capable of averting the worsening of the crises we face today, reversing the destructive course that has been set by previous generations. Inaction would mean to let violence, neglect, and hatred continue to govern education and society. The task is urgent, and although it has been rendered unnecessarily difficult, it is also essential. By building our network and action-research, we are creating the conditions for something better to take root and grow, despite those who continue to despise and destroy.
Apply to join: https://health.int.eu.org/membership.html