The Mediterranean and Climate Change
Impacts, people, action
International,
multi-disciplinary exploratorium
27-30 Oct, 2020
Open Ocean University
Université Internationale de la Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer &
Sophia Antipolis
French Riviera, France
Please note that this web site is currently under construction and that information may change without notice.
The coronavirus Covid-19 situation is being monitored in regard to the school - more here.
The autumn school will be an exploratorium*. It is open to all applicants who are ‘Mediterranean stakeholders’, people who, and organizations that, have an interest in planning and acting for the future of the Mediterranean, especially the future as it will be shaped by accelerating global warming and climate change.
Stakeholders may include: Researchers, decision makers, citizens, scientists, students, activists, environmental organizations, NGOs, scientific institutions, local and central government agencies and their representatives, business and industry, local politicians, health, tourism, utilities, military and transport.
*An exploratorium may be thought of as a participant-oriented forum for the hands-on, collaborative exploration of known issues through a new lens with the purpose of opening up pragmatic, action-oriented paths.
The International Autumn School
of the Open Ocean University
will bring together two content areas and two methodologies:
oceans, climate change,
foresight and participatory simulation
Opportunity for learning
Five interrelated threads will lead our way through the various workshops and activities of this International, Multi-disciplinary Exploratorium: The school will be an exciting opportunity for stakeholders to:
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learn about the complexity and interactions related to the climate impacts, human, biological and physical resources, sustainability, policy, governance, ethical dimensions, health issues and cultural diversity of the Mediterranean basin and its coasts under the impact of severe, inevitable global warming, driving climate change *;
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become actors in the definition, building and writing of roadmaps** of policies and actions that need to be adopted and undertaken to adapt to and mitigate against climate change in the Mediterranean basin;
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become familiar with methodologies, such as issues- and solutions-oriented foresight methods and data-driven, decision-focused, participatory simulation (Companion Modelling), that enable stakeholders to participate creatively, collectively and constructively to unravel the complex web of interrelated issues and to make decisions under conditions of uncertainty;
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engage with, get to know and make friends with fellow stakeholders with a variety of views, problems to solve and solutions to offer;
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break new ground in sharing, creating, learning about and promoting effective ways to engage people and communities to undertake positive action to mitigate and adapt to the ravages of climate change in the Mediterranean.
* For more information on the these topics, please visit the Documents page. We suggest that you read some of the documents or watch some of the videos before you arrive.
** Please see the Methods page for notes on the term roadmap.
No prior experience of foresight or simulation is necessary for participation in the International School. However, it would be useful to have at least some basic notions related to oceans, climate change and some of the issues involved.
Objectives
Several objectives intertwine in synergistic fashion, each one reinforcing the others
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Provide a structured, methodologically-proven, creative and participatory framework for participants to learn about, engage with and be challenged by the complex interactions among, and dynamics of, actions, resources, science, sustainability, evolution, ethics, best practices, policy and governance related to the Mediterranean basin and its coasts under the physical and societal consequences of climate change;
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Give participants the experience of being actors in the definition, building and writing of new roadmaps for concrete actions in the Mediterranean basin and along its coasts;
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Allow participants to experience three different, but complementary, methodological approaches from the inside, and take back new implementable skills to their place of work;
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Give participants the hands-on experience of actually practicing and improving their personal, social, technical and scientific skills in the negotiation of roadmaps for action;
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Provide a rich opportunity for participants to do in-depth networking and make meaningful connections with like-minded people;
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Enable each participant to express themselves freely, in their own unique way and at their own level;
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Offer the opportunity for each participant to reap the reward of working closely with others, and of becoming owners of a common work, the (to-be-written) roadmaps for actions for a climate-changing Mediterranean. The roadmaps are likely to be useful later when participants return to their organizations and embark on or continue in their quest for implementing appropriate action.
Target groups
The international school is designed for a broad range of stakeholder, including:
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Citizens, especially those with a close interest in the future of the Mediterranean impacted by strong climate change;
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Professionals working in areas related to the sea and coasts of the Mediterranean;
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Students at all levels (BSc/BA to PostDoc), enrolled in programmes related to the themes of the summer school;
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Researchers, scientists, teachers and professors working in areas related to the themes of the summer school;
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Representatives of national and international organizations, such as NGOs, citizen associations, UN agencies, ocean research groups, local to international environmental groups, etc.;
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Officers of local governments of communities bordering the Mediterranean;
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Workers and leaders in business and industry, such as utilities, transport, health, media, tourism, military, trade and shipping, all of which will be highly impacted by, as well as have an impact on, climate change, including sea-level rise;
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Officers of government agencies, such as Ministries of the Environment or Ministries of the Oceans.
Logo designed by Pimnutcha Promduangsri
World Oceans Day 2020
8th June is World Oceans Day, the United Nations day for celebrating the role of the oceans in our everyday life and inspiring action to protect the ocean and sustainably use marine resources.
https://www.unworldoceansday.org/
https://irishoceanliteracy.ie/connecting-for-world-ocean-day-2020-togetherwecan/