Networking Fridays
Governing the Tide: regional policy, coordination, and international frameworks
Date
October 30, 2026, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM UTC
UpcomingAIR Centre Networking Fridays
More information about the Webinar series hereZoom Webinar Registration Is Open
Please register hereOr Watch It on YouTube
Link to live streamSargassum is a transboundary challenge that no single country can address alone. Yet international coordination remains fragmented, early warning systems are not operationally linked to response mechanisms. This session examines the governance landscape: what frameworks exist, where the gaps are, and what models of regional cooperation — from the Caribbean to West Africa — could be scaled up or replicated.
Networking Fridays on Sargassum Across the Atlantic is a five-episode series recurring cross-Atlantic dialogue connecting researchers, environmental managers, health professionals, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and community representatives working on the sargassum crisis. Each session pairs regional practitioners dealing with sargassum on the ground with specialists whose expertise can directly inform local responses, building not just knowledge transfer, but lasting cross-Atlantic partnerships.
Programme · UTC
Moderators
Lorna V. Inniss
IOCARIBE, IOC-UNESCO
Speakers
Deanesh Ramsewak
University of Trinidad and Tobago
Eduardo Ortiz Jasso
Urban Economy Forum
Eduardo Ortiz Jasso is a Mexican architect and urban planner with 30 years of experience in sustainable tourism, urban development and planning across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. A graduate of UNAM with a Master’s in Sustainable Urban Management and Design from Universidad Iberoamericana, he was Cancún’s first City Planner as founding Director of its Urban Planning Institute (IMPLAN), where his Plan Cancún 2030 won the 2008 Award of Excellence in Urban Planning at the World Planning Congress. He also founded Quintana Roo’s Strategic Projects Agency (AGEPRO), a Latin American benchmark for public-private partnerships that delivered the Nichupté Bridge and Cancún’s Equity Park, recognised by UN-Habitat. He currently directs the Urban Economy Forum for Ibero-America and the Caribbean, leads his firms Ortiz Jasso Arquitectos and OJ+Partners, and is a member of AIA and ISOCARP, where he served as President in Mexico.
Josette Edward-Charlemange
OECS Commission
Josette Edward-Charlemagne, a native of Saint Lucia, is a Programme Officer within the Climate Change & Disaster Risk Management Unit (Environmental Sustainability Division) of the OECS Commission. Her responsibilities include coordinating, implementing, and managing community resilience activities within OECS Member States.
Josette holds an MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management (University of Leicester) and a BSc in Management Studies (University of the West Indies).
Peace Dziedzom Gbeckor-Kove
EPA Ghana
Winnie Sowah
University of Ghana
Dr. Winnie N. A. Sowah is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences at the University of Ghana. Her current research interests encompass ecological, genetic, and social impacts of invasive species such as Sargassum, population genetics of fish species, as well as genetic applications to aquaculture development and fisheries, and maritime resource management. She is particularly interested in the links between marine governance, fisheries sustainability, and maritime security in West African coastal systems. Through her work, Dr. Sowah seeks to advance scientific understanding and policy-relevant knowledge that contribute to resilient marine ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods within Ghana and the broader Gulf of Guinea and West African sub-region.
