Initial Conference Announcement
The International Pacific Marine Educators Network (IPMEN) will hold its fourth biennial conference from Monday 26 November to Monday 3 December 2012 in Chile.
Marine educators will again gather to share resources and to advance a network aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the Pacific and the communities who depend upon it.
Program Details
Theme, Strands, and Call for Papers
Registration and Scholarships
Accommodations in Santiago
Travel to Chile
Northern Patagonia Field Session
Goal: Jumpstart marine education in Chile.
Justification: Implementation of Marine Education is basic to a sustainable society that looks towards the Pacific.
Four Strands
1. Marine Biodiversity
2. Sustainable Aquaculture
3. Community response and government management of natural ocean-related disasters
4. Local experiences in formal, non-formal and informal marine education
Where and When
Monday 26 – Tuesday 27 Santiago
Wednesday 28 flying to Patagonia, afternoon-evening in Coyhaique
Thursday 29 traveling by bus to Tortel
Friday 30 – Saturday 01 in Tortel|
Sunday 02 traveling by bus from Tortel to Coyhaique
Monday 03 fly back to Santiago and overseas
The first two days are in Santiago, Chile for a day of a formal conference with speakers and meetings with government officials from different Ministries. One of the goals of the conference is to support local efforts by NGOs and Oceanographic Research Centers to develop marine education in formal and non-formal settings. On the second day a share-a-thon with local educators will be held.
On the third day, Wednesday 28, conference delegates will take half a day to fly from Santiago to Balmaceda and then by bus to Coyhaique. Later they will meet with local marine practitioners and learn about the effect of aquaculture and natural stressors upon Chilean fjords and the development of sustainable practices associated with fjord ecosystems (artisan fisheries, scientific tourism among others).
On the fourth day, we will be on the road again traveling either to Caleta Tortel which surrounded by exuberant landscape and is situated between the two major ice fields of the southern hemisphere and the latter near the Queulat Hanging Glacier, one of the closest to the Equator in the southern hemisphere. The small and remote township of Caleta Tortel is located at the mouth of the Baker River and has a population of around 500. Wooden boardwalks replace streets and sidewalks as the fishing village is built on rocky hills.
The bus trip and two days in one of these remote locations offer an ideal format for a more informal approach to developing the conference theme, network building and the establishment of collaborative international projects. Activities will be organized at the local schools to meet the youngsters and thereby offer both sides a rewarding intercultural experience.
For More Information
For more information about the Chile 2012 conference or, more generally, IPMEN please contact:
- Luis Pinto (Chile)
- Harry Breidahl (Australia)
- Sylvia Spalding (Hawaii).