2022 SOST Opportunities and Actions Roundtable
Summary: Motivated by the US Peace Corps, Global Ocean Corps and Conveyor (https://globaloceancorps.org) aims to dramatically increase the number of collaborations between ocean scientists in higher-resourced nations and those in under-resourced nations. We will build upon successful capacity development programs, such as workshops held at the U-Rhode Island Coastal Resource Center, and the Coastal Ocean Environment Summer School in Ghana (COESSING; https://coessing.org), which has been running for one week every August since 2015. The Ghana summer school has brought together hundreds of African participants and dozens of US participants over the years. We are seeking out funding to expand the idea into many more coastal nations. As a test of our ability to expand into new nations, in August 2022, we will hold the school in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. Enthusiasm for such exchanges is high both among potential host countries and amongst US scientists. We have held seminars on the Ghana summer school and Ocean Corps idea at about 20 academic institutions. Interest amongst US scientists, especially young scientists, is palpable. With sufficient funding we could transform the relationships between US oceanographers and the rest of the world.
Sector: Academia, Global ocean science capacity development
Organization: University of Michigan / Global Ocean Corps and Conveyor
POC: Brian Arbic, arbic@umich.edu