The Azores will host the 7th Annual Conference of the European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA) between September 16 and 19. It will focus on ocean literacy, more specifically on Goal 14 “Protecting Marine Life, one of the 17 UN Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).

This initiative is organised in partnership with the Regional Government, which, through the Regional Directorate for Science and Technology, submitted last year an application to host the EMSEA 2019 conference.

According to the Regional Director for Science and Technology, the holding of this event “reinforces the Regional Government’s commitment to education for science, being an excellent opportunity to promote ocean literacy.”

In this context, Bruno Pacheco stated that this meeting will “analyse new methods to better understand, raise awareness and communicate the importance of the oceans to society.”

According to the Regional Director, this conference aims to “provide participants with a hands-on and fun learning experience by promoting activities such as various workshop sessions or poster presentations.”

The EMSEA Conference brings together speakers from regional, national and international institutions, such as the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Lisbon Oceanarium, the University of the Azores and Ciência Viva- National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture, among others.

This event will gather teachers, researchers and other agents in the area of marine science education to share their knowledge and best practices for ocean literacy.

For the first time, the EMSEA 2019 will include a session open to local teachers and the community in general. It will be held at Expolab – Living Science Centre in Lagoa.

The 7th Annual EMSEA Conference stipulates a maximum of one hundred registrations. Those who are interested should register until August 31 at the address http://www.emsea.eu/info.php?pnum=75c6148b47fa90 on the EMSEA website.

Established in 2011, EMSEA is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting ocean literacy that brings together teachers and educators from European science centres and aquariums. It provides a platform for promotion and capability building in the area of marine sciences.