Ireland’s Strategy for Partnership with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) makes the commitment to establish an annual number of awards to SIDS professionals for postgraduate study in Irish higher education institutions in courses relevant to addressing climate change and its associated challenges.

Ireland is offering three new Fellowships to Small Island Developing States in each of the Pacific and Caribbean regions, for Masters level studies in Ireland in the academic year 2020/2021. 

Applications close January 31, 2020. Apply here!

Countries include:

Caribbean Region: Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname.

Pacific Region: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

In addition, applications will open for the following African SIDS in Spring 2020: Cabo Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Maldives, Mauritius, Sao Tomé and Príncipe.

The aims of the Programme are to nurture future SIDS leaders, women and men; to develop in-country capacity to address climate change and its associated challenges; and to build positive relationships between Ireland and SIDS. On return home, graduates are expected to bring their acquired skills to contribute to capacity building in their home countries.  It is also envisaged that they will contribute to building enduring positive personal and professional relationships with Ireland, promoting institutional linkages.

The Programme enables early to mid-career professional women and men, with leadership potential, to benefit from a prestigious, world-class, quality education contributing to capacity building. It offers selected students the opportunity to undertake a fully-funded one-year Masters level programme at a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland. The award covers course fees, flights, accommodation and living costs. Eligible Masters level courses in Ireland commence in August or September each year and, depending on the course, will run for between 10 and 16 months. The Programme promotes equal opportunity and welcomes diversity.

Learn more about Ireland’s Fellowship Programme here

GEO Blue Planet worked with the GEO Secretariat to make a new logo for our organization. We’re excited to unveil it here! For an image file to replace and prior logos, please see in our basecamp folder.

The Plastics Data Challenge is a global innovation challenge that will source, support, and scale innovative solutions that address the leakage of plastic waste into the environment.

The challenge invites all innovators worldwide (including academic institutions, startups, companies, and data scientists) to submit their innovative data solutions that advance plastic waste management and the circular economy in South and Southeast Asia. Participants have the chance to win up to $10,000 USD, a trip to Singapore for a one-week Innovation Summit, technical support and the opportunity to pilot their innovation in the region! Applications close 13 March 2020.

Learn More and Apply Here

We are very excited to invite you to save the date for Our Coastal Futures – the next Future Earth Coasts Open Science Conference, which will take place 19-22 October 2020 (with provisions for workshops until October 24) at Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Australia.

The conference is organised around interdisciplinary themes and seeks contributions from sciences, arts and humanities, policy and governance and has a strong emphasis on the contribution of Indigenous Knowledge.

Our Coastal Futures will be a transdisciplinary, multi-format international conference to share and generate knowledge and enable effective action.

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Call for contributions is now open. We are seeking expressions of interest from diverse fields, geographies and people for the following presentation formats:

Please visit the website for further information on the formats and the submission form.  Contributions close on the 6th January 2020. 

Abstract submissions for oral presentations and posters will open on the 3^rd February 2020.  Further information will be released at the time of opening

This event is hosted by Future Earth Coasts, Future Earth Australia, Australian Academy of Sciences and Southern Cross University and supported by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

The workshop help in Galway, Ireland, on December 12-13 2019 aims at training current and potential users of the Copernicus Marine Services ocean products for the European North West shelf. We anticipate users from various fields including aquaculture, fisheries and marine energy.

By the end of this training event you will be able to:

• Describe the potential value of using Copernicus marine products
• Identify relevant Copernicus marine products that would be appropriate for you to use.
• Navigate the Copernicus marine product catalogue.
• Confidently use appropriate tools and products from the catalogue.
• Input into the future design and development of Copernicus marine service tools and products

Registration and additional information can be found at this link!

Register for the free workshop here! 

IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society is hosting a workshop in Brest, France this upcoming 16-18 December, 2019! This workshop is a follow-up of last year Brest meeting on “Technologies for observing and monitoring plastics in the oceans” and the theme for this year will be dedicated to “Marine Debris Indicators: What’s Next?”

The objective for this conference is to assess the potential observation and monitoring platforms for marine debris and plastics. The conference will propose a refined road map and recommendations to major institutions and funding agencies for future technology initiatives. 

Click here to find more information on the meeting as well as the program!

The organizing committee:

René Garello (IEEE OES / IMT Atlantique)
Hans-Peter Plag (IEEE OES / ODU)
Christophe Maes (LOPS/IRD/IUEM)
Anouck Hubert (ALLOHa, IMT Atlantique)
Jay Pearlman (IEEE OES / FourBridges)

GEO Blue Planet is excited to announce the Journal of Operational Oceanography Supplemental Issue titled “Ocean Observing for Societal Benefit” has been published!

The article “An introduction to the ‘Ocean and Society: Blue Planet initiative,” is featured in the issue and co-authored by a number of GEO Blue Planet Members: Emily A. Smail, Paul M. DiGiacomo, Sophie Seeyave, Samy Djavidnia, Louis Celliers, Pierre-Yves Le Traon, Jeremy Gault, Elva Escobar-Briones, Hans-Peter Plag, Christine Pequignet, Lenore Bajona, Li Zhang, Jay Pearlman, Andy Steven, Jonathan Hodge, Marie-Fanny Racault, Curt Storlazzi, William Skirving, Ron Hoeke, John Marra, Ap van Dongeren, Frank Muller-Karger, Douglas Cripe & Daniel Takaki.

As a part of the ERA4CS funded INNOVA Project, the workshop will be held on 13-15 November 2019 in Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, French West-Indies at the Memorial ACTe Museum. 

The primary objectives of this workshop are:

• Have the climate and observation service developers focusing on the unique challenges faced by the small islands.
• Co-identify the gaps and needs for coastal climate and observation services for small island states.
• Co-develop strategies in response to the needs of coastal climate and observation services for adaptation of small island communities.
• Co-establish a platform or networks for the development and sharing of coastal climate and observation services for small island states.

For more information about co-sponsors of the event and expected outcomes, see the attached flyer.

Interested in participating? Please Contact Dr. Louis Celliers (louis.celliers@hzg.de)

Please take a moment to fill out the survey here!

In 2015, the United Nations established the 2030 Agenda with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to ensure present development meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The 2030 Agenda is an Integrated Plan of Action structured in four main parts: a) Vision and principles for transforming our world as set out in the Declaration; b) Results framework of 17 SDGs and 169 targets; c) Means of implementation through governments, society and global partnership, and; d) Follow-up and review framework of global indicators.

SDG 14 is specific to the ocean and is to ‘conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’. There are 10 targets for SDG 14, each with indicators to help countries, regions and the United Nations General Assembly to measure progress made in meeting the targets. Ocean observation, including in-situ measurements and remote sensing are particularly important to monitor eutrophication and plastic pollution (target 14.1) and ocean acidification (target 14.3). 

This session will focus on the role of ocean observations and research in the implementation, monitoring, and reporting in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular SDG 14 and how new science and technologies generated throughout the course of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development are expected to support these initiatives.

The planning committee for the OceanObs’19 Breakout Session on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Ocean Observing has put together a survey for the community to share their views on what role(s) ocean observations and the ocean observing community can play in the next decade in relation to the SDGs and to share what they would like covered during the side event.