iDigInfo Director Austin Mast participated as an invited speaker in the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., in October 2025. He spoke on the impact of the global citizen science community in the expert panel “Citizen Science: Ordinary People Saving the World with Data.” The panel provided context for IUCN members as they considered Motion 126 “Advancing Citizen Science to Support and Democratize Conservation.” Mast participates in the IUCN’s Citizen Science Task Force.