Sara recently attended CANARIES II in Bangkok, a scientific meeting unlike any other. For three days, researchers weren’t just presenting slides; they became “pirate scientists” united by a rebellious mission.
Instead of death-by-PowerPoint, participants drew their markets with colored markers and stickers, visualizing the chaos of live animal trade from farm to table. Sara introduced TrackFLU by presenting an overview of Bastien’s cross-sectional study. His observations capturing the diversity of market structures, from informal roadside sellers to more established live bird markets, resonated with discussions about how formality shapes disease transmission and surveillance challenges.
The crew debated their Crew Code and emerged with a shared mission: advocating for creative, actionable solutions for healthier markets and communities.
But the magic wasn’t just the Market Mapping Tool they built together. It was looting each other’s booty in team-building games, laughing until their sides hurt, old colleagues and new faces becoming one crew. This network isn’t held together by institutions. It’s held together by pirate scientists who play together, stay together.
