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Conference
Background
Communities
worldwide face social inequities that adversely affect public
health, education, economic development, environmental quality,
and cultural and artistic representation. Often, scientific
contributions to solving these problems are far removed and
not relevant to the affected communities. A holistic and scientifically
rigorous approach that integrates the knowledge, worldview,
and experience of community members, service providers, and
researchers can bridge this gap. Community-based collaborative
research (CBCR), based on principles of participation in the
research process, blends local knowledge, activism and cultural
expression with scientific theory-driven methods to generate
new knowledge and action to promote social justice. CBCR also
offers promise for effectively adapting research-based interventions
for use in real world settings.
Crossroads
II was a 3-day conference held in Hartford, Connecticut on June 7-9, 2007. The conference focused on the promise, pitfalls, and “best
practices” of CBCR to address disparities and inequities
in the arenas of health, education, artistic and cultural
representation, development, and the environment. The goal
was to create an interactive forum to share perspectives, and
discuss new approaches that integrate science-based and community-based knowledge to promote effective action
for social justice. |
