Oceans of Opportunities, Rivers of Ideas
The abstract book can be found here.
All sessions were recorded. Recordings can be found here.
All presentations can be found below.
Interviews with VLIR-UOS alumni at the event can be found here.
WEDNESDAY 5 December: Colonial Palace, Paleizenlaan 1, 3080 Tervuren
Opening of the OORI event
13:30-14:00
Registration
14:00-14:30
Welcome by Ann Vanreusel & Nico Koedam
14:30-16:00
- Marc De Meyer, Head of Biology department and of Entomology section, AfricaMuseum, Belgium
- Romain Meeusen, Vice-Rector International Policy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium
- Kristien Verbrugghen, Director, VLIR-UOS, Belgium
- Jacqueline Uku, Scientific Director, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kenya
- Jan Mees, General Director, Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium
- Falko Buschke, Researcher, University of the Free State, South Africa
16:00-18:00
Network Reception: Colonial Palace
THURSDAY 6 December: Universiteit Gent (UGent), Aula, Voldersstraat 9, 9000 Gent
8:30-9:00
Registration | Welcome coffee/tea
9:00-9:15
Introduction to the morning session (Chairperson Magda Vincx, UGent, Belgium)
Welcome by the Director of Internationalisation Guido Van Huylenbroeck, UGent, Belgium
9:15-10:45
Keynote presentations (15' per presentation): "Ecosystem resources and management"
- Towards establishing fisheries co-management plans along the Kenya coast: progress and successes, Cosmas Munga (Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), Kenya)
- The future of fisheries resources research, Angela Nankabirwa (National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Uganda)
- Mapping the ocean seafloor: the "uncharted" world, Amon Kimeli (KMFRI, Kenya; University of Bremen, Germany)
- Marine spatial planning in Belgium: from Ghent University to the World, Frank Maes (UGent, Belgium)
10:45-11:15
Coffee break
11:15-11:45
Pitch presentations (7' per presentation): "Ecosystem resources and management"
- Being a marine scientist at WWF, Sarah Vanden Eede (WWF Belgium)
- Investigate the origin of carbon buried underneath seagrass meadows in a tropical mangrove-seagrass ecosystem, Riccardo Pieraccini (Oceans & Lakes student)
- Offshore development in the North Sea: interactions between fish, scientists and the industry, Inge van der Knaap (UGent, Belgium)
- Environmental pollution in Vietnam and its relation with aqauculture and ecosystem management, Ngo Thi Thuy Huong (Vietnam Center on Karst and Geoheritage (VCKG), Vietnam)
11:45-12:30
Interactive session: “Policy makers and scientists do (not) listen to each other, do(n't) they?" (moderators Diana Di Nitto, Jean Hugé & Nico Koedam)
12:30-13:30
Lunch break
13:30-14:30
Introduction to the afternoon session (Chairperson Cosmas Munga, TUM, Kenya)
Keynote presentations (15' per presentation): "Education, leadership and communication"
- Dialogue on some critical leadership concepts and how they matter in aquatic sciences and in life in general, Ibrahima Thiam (Wetlands International Africa, Senegal)
- Research-education coupling in changing perspectives of aquatic study in Vietnam, Hien Thanh Nguyen (University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam)
- Opportunities and challenges for marine scientists in the dredging world, Thibaud Mascart (DEME, Belgium)
- Change the world by changing yourself, Shanna Vanblaere (UGent, Belgium)
15:00-15:30
Coffee break
15:30-16:00
Pitch presentations (7' per presentation): "Education, leadership and communication"
- Bridging the gap between marine education and policy-making: the European Marine Training Platform, Evelyn Paredes Coral (UGent, Belgium)
- Combine science and education for better conservation actions: an example in Nicaragua, Joëlle De Weerdt (ELI-Scientific, Belgium)
- MACOPSproject: from PhD project to networking opportunity and development of new guidelines for a better sanitary monitoring program in Peru, Iván Loaiza Alamo (UGent, UAntwerpen, Belgium; Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Peru)
- Rapid ecosystem services assessment & conceptualization of conservation effectiveness in Pendjari National Park, Benin, Devonne Goad (Oceans & Lakes student)
- The impact of social media in communicating a world of science, Tom Janssen (Tom’s Odyssey, Belgium)
16:00-17:00
Panel discussion: “How to frame –marine- conservation: a story of doom or a story of hope?” (moderators Ann Vanreusel & Diana Di Nitto): Sarah Vanden Eede, Thibaud Mascart, Jacqueline Uku, Ibrahima Thiam, Mohamed Omar Said Mohamed
FRIDAY 7 December: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), U-residence, Generaal Jacqueslaan 272, 1050 Elsene
8:15-9:00
Registration | Welcome coffee/tea
9:00-10:30
Introduction to the morning session (Chairperson Judith Okello, KMFRI, Kenya)
Keynote presentations (15' per presentation): "Conservation and monitoring"
- How to become a change agent in the Western Indian Ocean Region, Harifidy Olivier Ralison (WWF Madagascar)
- Science for marine conservation in Peru: lessons and challenges, Eliana Alfaro-Cordova (Pro Delphinus, Peru)
- Biodiversity conservation - a consideration of endangered marine species, Mohamed Omar Said Mohamed (Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya)
- Biodiversity and development: challenges for capacity building, Luc Janssens de Bisthoven (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Belgium)
10:30-11:00
Coffee break
11:00-11:30
Pitch presentations (7' per presentation): "Conservation and monitoring"
- The science behind the blue label: how science delivers positive change across the world's oceans through certification, Marcus Nelson (Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), United Kingdom) - CANCELLED
- Dwarf brooder versus giant broadcaster: combining genetic and reproductive data to unravel cryptic diversity in an Antarctic brittle star, Quentin Jossart (VUB, Belgium)
- Getting more out of the marine equipment budget by applying open source technology, Katrijn Baetens (RBINS, Belgium)
- EMODnet – gateway to marine data from & for users, Nathalie Tonné (European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), Belgium)
11:30-12:30
World Café: “What is the role of scientists in raising public awareness, and what are mechanisms to achieve it?” (moderators Diana Di Nitto & Jean Hugé)
12:30-13:30
Lunch break
13:30-15:00
Introduction to the afternoon session (Chairperson Eliana Alfaro-Cordova, Pro Delphinus, Peru)
Keynote presentations (15' per presentation): "Social-Ecological Systems"
- Scientists as agents of change: working with the local community along the coast of Kenya, Judith Okello (KMFRI, Kenya)
- Integrating science with community: the case of mangrove conservation in Kenya, Amina Juma Hamza (KMFRI, Kenya)
- Improving Peruvian fisheries management: Silvana Denisse Fajardo Perez (Sustainable Oceans, Water and Cities (SOWAC), Peru)
- Ocean observations, data and science in support of policy and society: the example of EU's Marine Knowledge 2020 strategy in the context of its Integrated Maritime Policy, Jan-Bart Calewaert (EMODnet, Belgium)
15:00-15:30
Coffee break
15:30-16:00
Pitch presentations (7' per presentation): "Social-Ecological Systems"
- Better-informed policy-making - Mangrove conservation in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Katherine Vande Velde (Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium)
- Storytelling through brushstrokes: Using art to communicate science, Meenakshi Shankar Poti (ULB, Belgium)
- Agents of change in Colombia, Paula Tatiana González Sanchez (Monitoreos Ambientales (MoAm), Colombia) (video)
- Using information and communication technology to find and share community owned solutions to sustainability challenges, Julia Jung (IMBRSea student, Cobra Collective, UK)
SATURDAY 8 December: VUB, U-residence,Generaal Jacqueslaan 272, 1050 Elsene
9:15-10:00
Registration | Welcome coffee/tea
10:00-11:30
Introduction to the morning session (Chairperson Mohamed Omar Said Mohamed, KWS, Kenya)
Keynote presentations (15' per presentation): "From science to policy"
- From Science to Policy: a scientist/administrator experience, James Njiru (KMFRI, Kenya)
- From Science to Action & Policy: Experience of the Wio Region, Jacqueline Uku (KMFRI, Kenya)
- Payment for Ecosystem Services, Khuong Tran Chinh (United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Vietnam)
- Ecological monitoring of rivers and lakes : are we measuring the right aspects for policy?, Ludwig Triest (VUB, Belgium)
11:30-12:00
Pitch presentations (7' per presentation): "From science to policy"
- Marine science in the European Parliament, Leonie Buschbeck (intern, European Parliament, Belgium)
- Science and climate change, Mike Olendo Izava (Conservation International, Kenya) (CANCELLED)
- Nature conservation: the role of politics & business, Soraya Candido (Antwerp Management School (AMS), Belgium)
- The perception of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Christine Rundt (Oceans & Lakes student)
12:00-13:00
Lunch break
13:00-14:00
Keynote presentations (15' per presentation): "Ecosystems and their services" (chairperson Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, VUB-ULB, Belgium)
- The intertidal mudflats and coastal wetlands of Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines- Lessons learned from a forgotten ecosystem, Georgina L. Fernandez (Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines)
- Blue diatoms as a potential for sustainable shellfish aquaculture, Fiddy Semba Prasetiya (Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER), France)
- Some interesting news about the mangrove horseshoe crab in penninsular Malaysia, Satyanarayana Behara (Universiti Malaysia Terengganu - UMT, Malaysia)
14:00-14:30
Pitch presentations (7' per presentation): "Ecosystems and their services"
- The exceptions to the rule? Metal bioaccumulation in macroinvertebrates from metal polluted sites with a good ecological status, Bart Slootmakers (UAntwerpen, Belgium)
- TROPIMUNDO: studying tropical biodiversity and ecosystems under the EC educational excellence label Erasmus Mundus, Farid Dahdouh-Guebas (VUB-ULB, Belgium)
- Extension of community carbon offsetting project in Kenya, Ahmad Hussein Mohammed (KMFRI, Kenya) (video)
- A range of opportunities, from sea level to mountaintops, Loïc Gillerot (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH), Switzerland) (video)
14:30-15:00
Coffee break
15:00-16:00
Panel discussion: “Caught in the net – marine & lacustrine scientists: drivers of change” (moderator Farid Dahdouh-Guebas): Nico Koedam, Judith Okello, Cosmas Munga, Satyanarayana Behara, Karolien Van Puyvelde
16:00-17:00
SUNDAY 9 December:
10:00-13:00
Visit of BIGH Farm - a sustainable aquaponic urban farm in Anderlecht, Brussels
