On behalf of the International Sea Turtle Society, we extend a very warm welcome and invite to the 41st International Sea Turtle Symposium (ISTS41), a seven-day global event that will be hosted in Cartagena, Colombia between the 18th and 24th March 2023.
ISTS41 will bring together a community of sea turtle biologists, environmental practitioners, conservationists, Indigenous groups, researchers, academics, and advocates from up to 60 countries to share knowledge, build capacity, network and collaborate and ultimately, to promote the protection and conservation of sea turtles.
The theme of ISTS41 is “bridging communities and technology for marine turtle conservation” with the motto of Vision 20/20. The theme focuses on a new scope of what should be community-based conservation worldwide, applying technologies and field techniques for new researchers to deal with future challenges in the conservation biology of sea turtles.
The ISTS41 logo combines conservation with culture. It incorporates the focus of hawksbill sea turtle preservation with the iconic fruit sellers palenqueras of Cartagena. She is showing a child the turtle, symbolizing the importance of passing this passion for conservation on to the next generation. “Palenqueras, symbol of the woman of Cartagena” are dressed in colorful costumes and wearing a great smile, The Palenqueras embellish the Historical Center of Cartagena de Indias, becoming part of the landscape. The reason for their name is due to their origins, because these women, who sell delicious tropical fruits and delicious sweets, are native to the first slave-free’s people town in America, called San Basilio de Palenque, a district of Mahates-Bolivar.
