UNOC3 Side Event launches strategic partnership for Ocean Research and Capacity Building
A significant step forward in international marine science cooperation was achieved on June 12 as Portuguese-speaking African Small Island Developing States (SIDS) committed to establishing Centers of Excellence in Marine Sciences. The initiative, presented during the official UNOC3 side event “Strengthening Marine Science and Capacity Building through the Establishment of Centers of Excellence in Portuguese-Speaking African SIDS,” was led by Cabo Verde’s Ministry of the Sea and Instituto do Mar (IMar) with support from the AIR Centre.
The comprehensive partnership brings together four island nations—Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste—alongside UNESCO’s SIDS Section and Germany’s GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The collaboration aims to leverage existing scientific knowledge, regional infrastructure, and international cooperation to address critical oceanic challenges facing these vulnerable island communities.
The session gathered distinguished participation from key government officials and scientific leaders, underscoring the initiative’s strategic importance. Ministers from three African nations participated: H.E. Jorge Santos, Minister of Sea of Cabo Verde; H.E. Nilda Borges da Mata, Minister of Environment, Youth, Sustainable Tourism of São Tomé and Príncipe; and H.E. Viriato Soares Cassamá, Minister of Environment, Biodiversity, and Climate Action of Guinea-Bissau.
International organizations were represented by Mr. Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanography Commission (IOC) and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, and Professor Dr. Katja Matthes, Director of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The AIR Centre’s Executive Director Miguel Miranda and Yara Rodrigues, Board Member of Instituto do Mar – IMar (Cabo Verde), also participated in the discussions.
The initiative focuses on five strategic areas critical to building sustainable marine science capacity: strategic partnerships for blue science and innovation, youth capacity building with a dedicated focus on gender equality, evidence-based decision making for marine management, enhanced access to marine data and technologies, and fostering community innovation alongside regional cooperation.
The Centers of Excellence are designed to empower these communities with the knowledge, tools, and expertise needed to protect their marine environments while developing sustainable blue economies.
This represents a significant milestone in South-South cooperation, combining regional expertise with international scientific support to address some of the most pressing oceanic challenges facing island nations in the Atlantic and beyond.
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Networking Friday with Sigi Gruber (Head of the Healthy Oceans and Seas Unit, DG RTD, EC)
On July 10th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, Sigi Gruber, Head of the Healthy Oceans and Seas Unit, DG RTD, EC, presented the work of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. The Alliance is the result of science diplomacy efforts involving countries from around the Atlantic Ocean, and supports the implementation of the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation signed in May 2013 and the Belém Statement on Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Cooperation signed in July 2017. It aims at enhancing marine research and innovation cooperation so as to promote its well-being, prosperity and security for present and future generations.
Networking Friday with Paolo Corradi (ESA)
On July 3rd, 1-2 PM UTC, Paolo Corradi, ESA – European Space Agency, introduced the topic of marine plastic pollution and how remote sensing could contribute to solve what has become one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. The results achieved in the frame of the ESA activities on remote sensing of plastic marine litter will be reported. The presentation concluded by introducing the recent ESA Open Space Innovation Platform – OSIP campaign of ideas, which will fund a significant number of novel projects aiming at advancing the research towards a reliable detection of marine plastic accumulations from space. The session will be moderated by Kostantinos Topouzelis, expert in Marine Remote Sensing, University of the Aegean, Greece.