Connecting Communities: Partnering on Ocean Health to Address Climate Change

Prioritizing ocean health is crucial to designing and implementing policies that will protect millions of people from the extreme weather that climate change threatens to bring. What role can policymakers, research institutions, and professionals play in connecting communities to address this urgent sustainability challenge? And how can we ensure our communities work together for an integral ecology promoting human dignity and care for our common home?

For more than a decade, the European Union, thanks in part to the support of Ireland, has worked with Brazil, Canada, South Africa, the United States, and other countries to create an All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. This initiative connects researchers and communities from the Arctic to Antarctica. Now, insights from this partnership can inspire important intergenerational conversations.

Join this panel discussion and hear insights from experts who will explore these topics. This conversation will celebrate the signing of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Declarationhosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of State.

Presented by the European Commission, the Marine Institute (Ireland), the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, and the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, with support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

The event will take place both in-person and virtually on Thursday, July 14th, 2022 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time (1:00 PM Pacific Time / 9:00 PM Ireland Time / 10:00 PM Central European Time). Convert to your local time zone here. It will last for approximately 90 minutes.

Register to attend via Zoom

Register to attend in person

Speakers:

John Bell – Director, Healthy Planet Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

Paula S. Bontempi – Dean, Graduate School of Oceanography, The University of Rhode Island

Francisco Werner – Acting Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Amanda Netburn – Assistant Director, Ocean Science and Technology, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

Jennifer Tank – Ludmilla F., Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame; Director, Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative

Maria Zaira Turchi– Director, Institutional Cooperation, Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)

Moderator: Peter Heffernan Former CEO, Marine Institute (Ireland)