Training Programme on Ocean Governance: Policy, Law and Management
Training is a key activity of the IOI global network and the primary focus of IOI Canada's work in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Online courses have been the main option since 2020, but in-person training has also been offered since 2022 in the form of week-long training for Indigenous Peoples from the region. IOI Canada looks forward to returning to international in-person courses soon, in the tradition of the flagship training programme conducted at Dalhousie University each summer since being instituted by Elisabeth Mann Borgese in 1981.
Training Programme on Ocean Governance: Policy, Law and Management
- Offered by IOI in Canada at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- Two-month residential programme in May-July, held annually (until the pandemic) since 1981.
- Global coverage of ocean governance issues with emphasis on viewing the ocean as a complex system with varied users and multiple, often competing and conflicting, uses.
- More than 735 alumni from over 100 countries.
- Designed primarily for developing country mid-career professionals with responsibility for some aspect of coastal or ocean governance and an eagerness to step outside their area of specialisation and into an international, interdisciplinary forum where diverse participants learn together, share different perspectives and examine issues from different viewpoints.
- Over 200 hours of lectures, interactive discussions, field trips, simulations and exercises, individual participant presentations, and a concluding Round Table of ocean specialists. This intensive programme of study challenges participants to:
o deepen their understanding of the complexity and role of ocean-related issues in sustainable development;
o strengthen and update their academic knowledge, while also being exposed to practical lessons drawn from actual experience in integrated coastal and ocean management;
o develop relevant skills, leadership abilities and networks to help them apply their new knowledge on their return home; and,
o assist their countries towards maximising benefits to be derived from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, through the proper integration of coastal and ocean management into national and international development strategies.
- Approximately 90 speakers, including local and international experts and practitioners.
- Organised thematically:
o Module 1: Orientation and Introduction to the Training Programme
o Module 2: Law of the Sea and Principled Ocean Governance
o Module 3: Ocean Sciences
o Module 4: Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management
o Module 5: Fisheries and Aquaculture
o Module 6: Communication and Negotiation
o Module 7: Maritime Security
o Module 8: Marine Transportation
o Module 9: Energy
o Module 10: International Round Table and Conclusion of Training Programme
- Modules are linked by a course-long simulation to help consolidate, reinforce and integrate the wide range of information and ideas presented during the course. This learning tool also requires participants to address the challenges of translating facts and theory into policy, and provides practice in leadership, teamwork, negotiation, communication and presentation skills.
- Field trips reflect many of the module themes and showcase a unique variety of marine organisations and industries. These include the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (an RFMO), Port of Halifax, land and sea-based aquaculture companies, tidal power, seaweed product development, clam depuration facility, oil spill remediation and emergency management operations.
Further details and course reports can be downloaded from the Training section of the website: www.dal.ca/ioihfx. Any queries and expressions of interest may be addressed to: Madeleine Coffen-Smout, Programme Officer, IOI Canada on e-mail: ioi@dal.ca.
2024 Training Programme
IOI Canada successfully delivered the online programme on Ocean Governance after COP28: Problems, Progress & Prospects with a series of 20 live sessions between 18th March and 23rd May. Almost 140 individuals registered for this interdisciplinary training from over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North and South America, and the South Pacific. More than 20 speakers joined remotely from Germany, India, Switzerland and different parts of Canada, giving presentations and engaging in wide-ranging discussions on topics relating to the four modules: Law of the Sea and Ocean Governance; Fisheries, Aquaculture and Food Security; State of the Ocean; and Human Security and the Ocean. The schedule and other details are available in the Training section of IOI Canada’s website. Read more.
2023 Training Programme
IOI Canada's online course, Ocean Governance: SDG 14 and the UN Summit of the Sea, offering options for both synchronous and asynchronous participation, explored key issues in Ocean Governance through a combination of lectures, discussions, readings, videos and assignments. The 16 webinar-style sessions were organised into three modules focusing on Law of the Sea and Ocean Governance; Fisheries, Aquaculture and Food Security; and State of the Ocean, with almost 20 lecturers providing their perspectives from a broad range of backgrounds and disciplines. The course attracted participants from diverse sectors, backgrounds and organisations, with a global representation from nearly 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North and South America, and the South Pacific. The live class was capped at 25 to encourage interaction and discussion, but over 100 more participants registered for the self-paced study stream.
2022 Training Programme
IOI Canada's online course, Ocean Governance in the UN Decade of Ocean Science: Key Issues and Challenges, was offered for both synchronous and asynchronous participation. This webinar-based training programme provided an interdisciplinary exploration of important aspects of Ocean Governance through a combination of lectures, discussions, videos and readings. With 24 participants accepted into the live class and over 100 more registered for the self-paced study stream, there was global representation from nearly 60 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, the Indian Ocean, North and South America, and the South Pacific. Modules focused on Ocean Governance and Law of the Sea; State of the Ocean; and Fisheries, Aquaculture and Food Security, with almost 20 lecturers providing their perspectives from a broad range of backgrounds and disciplines.