Launching Outreach acƟ viƟ es in NANO

outreach

noun [U] /ˈaʊt.riːtʃ/ An acƟ vity of providing service to populaƟ ons who otherwise might not have

access to that service.

hƩ p://www.pieceofeight.com/

Launching Outreach acƟ viƟ es in NANO T he fi rst main assumpƟ on of the Outreach Project, iniƟ - ated during the Annual NANO CoordinaƟ on MeeƟ ng held in Berlin in 2013, was to distribute and exchange knowledge by establishing a catalogue of educaƟ onal resources. The main goal of the project was to create a ‘place’ where NANO members could share their ideas for teaching and/or educaƟ onal materials they have been using in their work for use by other Alumni. Our intenƟ on was to provide a comprehensive source of oceanographic knowledge from which all POGO alumni could derive informaƟ on on various ocean related topics and use these resources for teaching or educaƟ ng society. As a fast growing and constantly developing internaƟ onal Network created by people from diff erent parts of the world, ocean enthusiasts, possessing knowledge on diverse oceanographic topics, we are capable of creaƟ ng an incredible repository of scienƟfi c knowledge. It is a great privilege to be able to share the experiences with one another and transfer this knowledge further. The NANO Outreach Project gives a wonderful opportunity for that and thus it guides our goal.

In a nutshell T he project was offi cially launched in 2014 and iniƟ ally resulted in the collaƟ on of educaƟ onal materials in the online catalogue ( hƩ p://www.nf-pogo-alumni.org/NO_Catalogue). Successful, small, Outreach Projects were conducted by Chunli Liu in China, Lailah Akita and Angela Lamptey in Ghana, Mohammad Uddin in Bangladesh, Nandini Menon in India and Mara Braverman in ArgenƟ na. These NANO members conducted outreach acƟ viƟ es to disseminate knowledge to people of diff erent age-groups about the oceans and issues related to its protecƟ on, sustainable exploitaƟ on and environmental issues.

The success of the NANO Outreach Project iniƟ aƟ ves and lively interest of NANO members were rewarded by extending funding for these and other acƟ viƟ es and the Outreach project conƟ nued into 2015. For this year we are hoping to expand the catalogue database and load it with addiƟ onal ocean-related educaƟ onal presentaƟ ons from the NANO members and conƟ nue supporƟ ng individual iniƟ aƟ ves especially outreach and knowledge disseminaƟ on. This goal will be accomplished only with full parƟ cipaƟ on and engagement of all Alumni. From this place we would like to encourage greater involvement and contribuƟ on to the online educaƟ onal catalogue. Recently we have closed the second call for grant proposals for the Outreach AcƟ viƟ es and a contest for the design of educaƟ onal gadgets. Both dedicated parƟ cularly to NANO members. We are pleased that they captured the aƩ enƟ on of many NANO members. So far we have selected fi ve projects to be held during this year. We are looking forward to the posiƟ ve eff ects and feedback from their work to raise public awareness. Increasing the interest of Alumni in Outreach acƟ viƟ es is appealing and we are hoping for further engagement of Alumni into our iniƟ aƟ ves.

Dr Monika Grabowska Coordinator of NANO Outreach Project InsƟ tute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

DisseminaƟ on of knowledge, raising public awareness of threats to the Ocean and spreading good habits regarding marine environmental protecƟ on should be part of the job of every Oceanographer. Thus NANO has developed an outreach component as an addiƟ on to its research-oriented projects.