Innovative approaches to communicating scientific information were in the spotlight at this year’s ISNTD Fest in London. Hosted at the Wellcome Trust by the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ISNTD), long-standing partners of Break Dengue, it was an opportunity to bring together an eclectic and diverse group of researchers, artists, data experts, and musicians. Participants use data, art, and humor to communicate around some of the biggest problems in global health.

#ISNTDfestival Magic Glasses helps to fight parasite infections in school children pic.twitter.com/RR7RSGVl25

— KasiaHP (@Kasia_HP) March 27, 2018

Break Dengue Program Manager, Aaron Hoyles, was on hand showcase some of the innovations we have been pioneering with partners recently. In addition to the Dengue Prize for community action, the AIESEC exchange partnership in Brazil, and the Dengue Lab expert network, Aaron explained the eBarometer tool which uses big data to crowdsource disease surveillance.

How do you build strong communities in global health? Aaron Hoyles from @BreakDengue gives us insights from digital tools, and speaks about the eBarometer at #ISNTDFestival. Find out more here https://t.co/DQ0jD4pIUK pic.twitter.com/i7RkBxkK2z

— ISNTD (@ISNTD_Press) March 27, 2018

Developed in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital, the system turns big data and analytics into an innovative, actionable, vector-borne disease surveillance and alert system. 

For Aaron, the March festival was a chance to meet current partners, engage with new contacts, and learn about some ground-breaking approaches to problem-solving in health. “The breadth of projects shared at ISTND Fest, and the variety of backgrounds from which it draws participants, make it a real one-off,” he says. “I was delighted to take the opportunity to share our work and to get such a positive response.”