Help Mazzarello to attend her first International Conference

I am raising funds to help Mazzarello Bodovola attend and present her research at the international annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) - 2024. It will be held on the 14-18th of July in Kigali Rwanda (here is the link to this conference).

This annual meeting is an opportunity for students in Biology, like Mazzarello, to meet and receive feedback on their work from international experts. This is also an opportunity for them to expand networks and foster collaborations between peers and scientific leaders.

Mazzarello has just finished her Master's thesis defense in Tropical Biodiversity at the University of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar. She is now waiting for her Master's diploma to come out. Her research abstract entitled: ‘Eco ethological study of Madagascar pond heron, Ardeola idae, in the new breeding site in Farafangana, Madagascar’ has been accepted as a talk presentation at the ATBC this year. She is very excited to present her work, for the first time, in an international community, and also looking forward to figuring out her PhD research project.

As coming from a low-income country (Madagascar), and also there is no budget funding for students to attend such conferences at the University, Mazzarello doesn’t have enough funding to cover the cost of her trip and has the idea to open this crowdfunding. Fortunately, she has already secured funds to cover her registration fee at this conference. The remaining funds she needs include flight tickets (€1,340) and lodging (€110) for a total of €1,450. She is also preparing her application for the ATBC Travel Grant, and if awarded, less than half of this amount will be covered.

About myself:

My name is Vorompaly Onjampitahiana. I am Mazzarello’s best friend. I have known her for ten years, since our first year at the Lycée in our hometown, and then during our journey at the same University. She is like a sister to me, with whom I share good and bad things. We always celebrate together our success and help each other to overcome our failures. As I am recently moving to Germany, it is a pleasure for me to accept her invitation to be a beneficiary from a supported country on her ‘GoFundMe’ plan. One way that I can help her again to reach her goal. Mazzarello is one of the most hardworking people I have ever met. She never gives up until she finds solutions. She is also very passionate about nature and always ambitious to share her knowledge with others. As an early career in the field of research and conservation, I believe that being able to attend ATBC this year is a great opportunity for Mazzarello to increase her professional network and scientific skills, help her find ideas for her PhD project, and also to make known our University at such international conference.