Thanks @strawberry and @Maofang. This is an excellent question. We cannot expect anyone to participate unless they can see how they will benefit from their participation. I would like to know how we can help collection in areas like south-west Asia to get real benefits in the following ways:
- Better visibility and higher reputation for their collection nationally and internationally
- Opportunities for new partnerships to study the species in their collections
- Help in making data on their collections and specimens available across the Internet
I think we could help by trying to do the following:
- Make it easier for collections to start sharing information - make it easier to publish information (See Topic 1.3)
- Make information available in more languages and through more national portals
- Improve our understanding of what is most needed by collections in countries that are not yet involved (See Topic 1.9)
I am very interested in any ideas you have on these topics.