It’s called Segregation Wiki, it’s a platform that offers definitions and explanations of key terms related to segregation in its various forms, and it’s the result of a two-year research project led by Vinicius M. Netto in the area of social segregation, in collaboration with researchers from University College London (UCL) in the UK and the Federal Universities of Rio de Janeiro (UFF), Santa Catarina (UFSC) and Pelotas (UFPel) in Brazil.
To create the Segregation Wiki, the researcher from the Centre for Territorial, Transport and Environmental Research (CITTA) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) examined open access excerpts from more than 10,000 documents in Scopus, the database that offers a comprehensive overview of global interdisciplinary scientific information, covering the areas of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities.
For Vinicius M. Netto, this platform is a pioneer in the field of segregation research. ‘Segregation Wiki also features an interactive ontology, which organises the relationships between the various forms of segregation identified in more than 100 years of scientific literature. The ontology groups the forms of segregation as a network, under different labels or types. The network can be zoomed in on to generate more details about its connections. This is the first classification of its kind in segregation research.
The data collected in Vinicius M. Netto‘s research yields some interesting conclusions about the evolution of different types of segregation. ‘Based on the data we analysed, the fastest growing form of segregation in research is ethnic segregation, followed by social segregation and gender segregation. Ethnic segregation is a growing term because it incorporates racial and cultural nuances, topics that never lose their relevance. Racial segregation and urban apartheid are also on the rise, which is interesting given that today we are celebrating the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and that 2025 will mark 60 years since the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.’
The landscape of segregation: a network of forms of segregation identified since 1913 by scientific research. The connections show forms that appear in the same publications, and the size of the nodes shows their degree of connectivity. The network is interactive and can be navigated at https://tinyurl.com/2brf2kts.
The data collection identified and mapped 804 distinct forms of segregation studied in more than 160 disciplinary fields, dating back to 1913. This meta-study on the multidisciplinary landscape of segregation research used a bottom-up methodology, reflecting the diversity of segregation research over the last century, and was designed and realised to promote collaborative research on segregation.
Most of the initial definitions for forms of segregation were identified and created through a large-scale language model in artificial intelligence and designed to evolve through the collaborative contributions of the research community. Linguist and glossary expert Satia Marini has synthesised definitions for the fifty most researched forms of segregation, based on important works in specialised literature. These definitions have been revised and refined by the Segregation Wiki administrators. ‘We hope that this collaborative effort will ensure that the platform and Segregation Wiki continue to evolve in line with the emerging needs and perceptions of the research community, students at all levels and the general public interested in this ever-contemporary topic,’ adds Vinicius M. Netto.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March, a day established by Resolution 2142 (XXI) of the United Nations General Assembly on 26 October 1966, due to the events of 21 March 1960. On that day, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against laws that deepened Apartheid.
The aim of this day is to mobilise civil society in the fight against racial discrimination, to promote reflection on the progress made in the fight against racial discrimination, while highlighting the current challenges, in 2025, the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).