Seminar on marine research

A seminar entitled "Trends in Marine Research and related developments - a challenge for Malta and its role in the Mediterranean" will be held on January 27 at the Corinthia San Gorg, St Julian's.

The IOI - Malta Operational Centre of the University of Malta, in collaboration with the Malta Council for Science and Technology, is organising this seminar with the aim of providing an overview of key issues and trends in marine research in Malta and related areas. This will help in hi-lighting potential roles for our country in the Mediterranean.

Serving as a marine forum for sharing, amalgamating and concretising ideas as well as for synergising initiatives, the seminar is expected to produce important insights on the pace of research and innovation needed to gear our marine sector towards a viable future, on key emerging and prospective opportunities, and on the best strategy to reach such goals.

The seminar is being held in conjunction with the fifth Meeting of the MAMA/MedGOOS project which will be attended by leading marine scientists from the Mediterranean region, and representing key marine research centres with activities related to ocean monitoring and forecasting. MAMA - the Mediterranean network to Assess and upgrade Monitoring and forecasting Activity in the region - is a three-year project funded by the Fifth Framework Programme, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development of the EU.

It brings together a consortium made up of major marine institutions from all the Mediterranean countries, and is staging a concerted effort between countries in the region to put in place the institutional and scientific linkages to establish the regional platform for the implementation of MedGOOS.

For full details go to www.um.edu.mt/pressreleases/2003/mamaseminar.html