Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences

About the Conference

The 9th People and the Sea conference held at the University of Amsterdam under the theme ‘‘People and the Sea IX: Dealing with Maritime Mobilities’’ was organized by the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) at the University of Amsterdam in partnership with the Governance and Inclusive Development Group (also at the University of Amsterdam), Wageningen University and Research Centre (Environmental Policy Group), Aalborg University (Innovative Fisheries Management) and Tromsø University (Norwegian Fisheries College). The Conference took place at the Roeterseiland complex, from the 5th of July 2017 to the 7th of July 2017 and drew about 300 participants mostly from the academia.

The conference was organized along six (6) streams namely: Stream 1: Dealing with maritime Mobilities; Stream 2: Maritime governance; Stream 3: Social Relations and Culture; Stream 4: Fisheries management; Stream 5: Knowledge production and Stream 6: Coastal threats and vulnerability with several panel discussions, key note addresses as well as working group discussions on a diverse range of topics around people and the sea. Some of the streams and panel discussions were overlapped so one could not take part in all streams and panel discussions. But of importance to my research was Stream 1: Dealing with Maritime Mobilities under the panel title: Moving Forward: ‘‘African Port Authorities in Marine Environmental Governance’’ (conference book). The abstract of my paper can be found at page 78 and on page 24, sub heading 2.1.5 is information about the African Ports panel and the discussants.

Oral presentation and panel discussant

I made an oral presentation titled ‘‘Transnational networks and the greening of ports’’ which basically captured aspects of my earlier work and preliminary thoughts and findings for feedback, critique and review from my peers and senior researchers in the field. The audience for this presentation was about 40 people. Apart from the oral presentation, I was also a discussant on the African Ports Panel under the theme: ‘‘Moving Forward: African Port Authorities in Marine Environmental Governance’’ with an audience of about 40 people. By presenting results of my work and contributing to the discourse on the African ports panel, I was able to contribute to science not only by communicating my preliminary results with the scientific community but more importantly, also being provided with advice, suggestions and great insights for further developing my work. The MARE conference is the top notch international conference where social scientist involved with coast, sea and shipping converge to discuss the latest debates and scientific advancements in the field.

MARE policy day

I also got the opportunity to join other scientist in the MARE policy day on the theme: ‘Stakeholder participation in marine management: Connecting practice with theory’ where the concepts of stakeholder participation were discussed with case study presentations and open forum talks. This method allowed me to link theory and with practices. It was also a networking event which allowed me to connect with other scientist. I have conversations with those involved in shipping, ports, Marine Spatial Planning and Ocean Governance. Short discussions were held with key actors whom I identified will be useful for my project.

My Contribution

As an oral presenter, panel discussant and a participant in the Mare Policy Day, I was able to contribute to the discussions and situate my research in the discussions and hence was able to contribute to knowledge.

In conclusion, this conference did not only help to shape my own work, but I also helped me to contribute to the latest debates in the field and the advancement of knowledge. For giving me the opportunity to attend this conference, I thank the Sustainability Research Centre (artec) for the financial support.