“You cannot govern the oceans without ethics and science”

Training Programme information:

• Offered by IOI-Brazil, and IOI-Costa Rica, in Latin America & the Caribbean countries. The Training Programme is offered each year in a different country in these regions as a full time programme
• Two- to three-week  programme is to be offered annually; the first Course is programmed to start end-2016
• The training programme includes coverage of global and regional ocean governance issues concerning Latin America & the Caribbean (IOI-TC-LAC) with specific emphasis on three main themes:

o    Ocean Governance

o    Ocean Sciences

o    Geoethics

Although each of the three core issues are designed as stand-alone modules and can be presented separately, the IOI-LAC-TC integrates and interlinks these issues within a common learning process in order to show how governance is linked with geoethics and underpinned by the scientific knowledge of the oceans.

• For each of these core themes, the training programme incorporates and mainstreams several ideas within the following support issues/programmes/conventions/initiatives:

o    UNCLOS;

o    Millennium Assessment & Follow Up;

o    Millennium Goals for the Oceans;

o    International and Regional Organizations;

o    Global Ocean Observing System;

o    Socio-Environmental concerns;

o    Regional issues as conflicts and threats.

Each core issue is under the responsibility of a Training Leader (TL) and a Support Leader (SL), with the contribution of high level invited speakers (IS). Another aspect of the TC is the use of the “learning by doing“ pedagogic process, which implies the extensive use of practical activities such as case studies, round table discussions, conflict resolution RPG (Role Playing Games), field visits, interviews with local stakeholders, OCZ RPG (out of comfort zone RPG), etc.

• The training programme targets young practitioners in ocean governance issues, as well as scientists and educators with a proven background in their chosen field of studies. The course material offered by the expert faculty will be supported through the provision of appropriate tools and references to sources of additional information but the participants are expected to read around the subjects to supplement the class material offered. Selected candidates should be in a position to be able to successfully transmit and apply the acquired knowledge on return to their institutions, serving as educators in their homeland. 

2019 Training Programme 

The IOI Training Centre in Brazil focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean successfully offered this year’s training programme on Ocean Governance, Sciences & Geoethics in Barranquilla over four weeks with 29 participants in attendance from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba. 

Although each of the three core issues of Ocean Governance, Ocean Sciences and Geoethics are designed as standalone modules and can be presented separately, this training programme integrates and interlinks these issues within a common learning process in order to show how governance is linked with geoethics and underpinned by scientific knowledge of the oceans.

The motto of the programme was: “You cannot govern the oceans without ethics and science” and made use of the “learning by doing“ pedagogic process, which implies the extensive use of practical activities such as case studies, round table discussions, conflict resolution RPG (Role Playing Games), field visits, interviews with local stakeholders and OCZ RPG (out of comfort zone RPG). Although the theoretical part of the training programme was presented by the course leaders and invited speakers, most of the teaching effort was focused on the aforementioned “learning by doing” activities. The participants were young practitioners and scientists, with enough basic background knowledge not to be overly challenged by the theoretical issues discussed during the course. The daily activities were designed to merge seamlessly between the three main issues and the practical activities. The directors of the training programme, Dr Eduardo Marone and Dr Alejandro Gutierrez Echeverria and the local Support Centre coordinated the lectures and invited numerous leading local and regional experts to compliment the course’s theoretical dimension. 

A description of the course is given in the 02/19 edition of the IOInforma News Bulletin which is available for download from the Documents & Publications Section (0219 issue).

2020 Training Programme 

The 4th IOI Training Programme in this series for Latin America and the Caribbean (IOI LAC TC) titled "Ocean Governance, Ocean Sciences and Geoethics" is scheduled to be held on the 20th January to 14th February 2020 in Cananéia, São Paulo, Brazil.

Pre-registration will be from the 10th September until the 10th December (https://www.ioitclac.org/training-programs/brazil-iv/).

Further information will be provided soon.