This January, the international intercultural workshop For Healthier Hosts: Expanding the Ethical Agenda of Human Microbiota Conservation was held in Sucre, Bolivia.
The convening was supported by Rutgers University, the Microbiota Vault, and the Universidad Mayor San Francisco Xavier (USFX) in Sucre. It brought together Bolivian host institutions, Indigenous leaders and health workers from four countries.
Delegates came from Bolivia (traditional medicine practitioners, public health officials, academics, and university officers), Mexico (Maya leaders, academics, and university officers), Peru (Asháninka, Harakbut, and Shipibo-Conibo leaders and health workers), and Venezuela (Yek’wana leaders and health workers). Over several days, they explored ethical frameworks for human microbiota conservation grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems and values of cooperation, relational ethics, and equitable benefit-sharing. Delegates reflected on histories of research, articulated shared intercultural ethical principles and values, and recommended practices for collaboration in research and dissemination of results. Delegates also initiated the formation of CISAM-Salud – the Consejo Intercultural Indígena de Sabiduría Ancestral para la Conservación de los Microbiomas y la Salud (Intercultural Indigenous Council of Ancestral Wisdom for the Conservation of Microbiomes and Health).
In addition, the meeting opened new avenues for institutional collaboration, including prospective partnerships between the Universidad Intercultural Maya in Quintana Roo, Mexico, and the University of Sucre in Bolivia, strengthening intercultural academic exchange and cooperation across the region.