Join us on Thursday 19th November for Design Informatics Research Seminar with guest speaker Dr Joycelyn Longdon, who will present her research on the design of justice-led conservation technologies for monitoring biodiversity with local forest communities in Ghana (her place of heritage).
Event Details
Joycelyn Longdon, Multidisciplinary researcher, writer, technologist and advisor, PhD Candidate University of Cambridge
Talk title: Justice-led Conservation Technology
Talk host: Larissa Pschetz
Date: Thurs 19 Nov, 2026
Time: 16:00-17:00
Location: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, EH8 9AB
In this talk, Dr Joycelyn Longdon will present her research on the design of justice-led conservation technologies for monitoring biodiversity with local forest communities in Ghana (her place of heritage), specialising in biodiversity monitoring through machine-learning powered bioacoustics – essentially Shazam for nature. Uncovering the inherent connection between ecology, sociology and technology, her talk advocates for the disruption of a stagnant and often colonial and extractive field of study and makes clear the need for a justice-centred approach to the application of technology in conservation.
Bio
Dr Joycelyn Longdon is an award-winning environmental justice researcher, writer and technologist bridging the worlds of ecology, technology, environmental justice and culture. Her PhD research at the University of Cambridge centred on the design of justice-led conservation technologies for monitoring biodiversity with local forest communities in Ghana, specialising in ecoacoustics. As an environmental communicator and storyteller, Joycelyn has made more accessible topics of environmental justice, climate colonialism, conservation, nature technology, and design. She was 2022’s winner of the Emerging Designer London Design Medal, and was featured in British Vogue’s December 2023 ‘Forces for Change’ Issue. Most recently, she has been listed as one of Pique Action and Harvard Chan C-CHANGE’s 2024 Climate Creators to Watch and as one of Country and Town House’s Future Icons Power People 2024. Her debut book, Natural Connection: What Indigenous Wisdom and Marginalised People Teach Us About Environmental Action, was published in April 2025 in the UK and May 2026 in the US.
Running Order
15:30 – Welcome from Frauke Zeller and John Vines
16.00 – Introduction by Anna Talley and Talk by Roel Heremans
16.40 – Q&A
17.00 – End
In-person: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
Please note limited seats are available at Inspace for in-person audiences, so please book tickets in advance.
For inquiries about accessibility, please contact the DI team at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk or visit the Access webpage for more information about the venue: https://inspace.ed.ac.uk/venue-access/. If you have any enquiries about Inspace programming and the venue, please contact us at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk.
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About Design Informatics
The Institute for Design Informatics is a joint institute between Edinburgh College of Art and the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. Our mission is to bring design and data together to create a world that is socially just, where people live well, have agency and autonomy, and are able to adapt and transition how they live to ensure the planet flourishes. We seek to have a transformational impact on society by creating alternatives to dominant models of technology design and development, and to shape ethical and responsible data futures through applied research and practice.