Sobey Fund for Oceans gives students an opportunity to demonstrate ocean leadership

WWF

Graduate students at Dalhousie University who are interested in finding solutions to the problems facing Canada’s Oceans have the opportunity to compete for two awards of $10,000 each for the 2012-2013 academic year, thanks to a new partnership between WWF and Dalhousie University, “Canada’s Ocean University”, funded by a gift from the Sobey Fund for Oceans.

In addition to the scholarships, the Sobey Fund for Oceans also provides work placement opportunities through Dalhousie’s Marine Affairs Program, and will fund a student conference designed to help tomorrow’s leaders see “beneath the surface” of our oceans’ problems to find sustainable solutions.

The partnership between WWF and Dalhousie was formed in May 2011 with a goal of inspiring a new generation of ocean leadership. Through the Sobey Fund for Oceans, the partnership aims to attract the best and brightest minds across multiple disciplines – from marine biology, law, oceanography, management, journalism and political science – to find solutions that address a range of issues from the threats facing endangered species and habitats, to the impacts of climate change on ocean ecosystems, to the future of fishing and our coastal economies.

The student conference, entitled the Sustainable Ocean Management and Development (SO-MaD) Conference will be held March 30- 31st. Centered around the goals and objectives of the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) – also known as Rio+20, the conference will provide participants, through key note speakers, panel discussions, and poster and oral presentations an opportunity to critically assess how well previous commitments, goals and targets related to coasts, oceans and island states have been met by the world’s community, and to identify and address new and emerging challenges.

Quote
“I have a long history with both Dalhousie and WWF. It became clear to me that collaboration between our brightest young minds and our leaders in conservation is the key to solving some of the great challenges in our oceans. And that’s the goal that I share with both Dalhousie and WWF.”
– Donald Sobey, The Donald R. Sobey Foundation

Facts

  • The scholarship competition is open to potential and returning graduate students at Dalhousie University, with the aim to attract the best and brightest minds across multiple disciplines – such as marine biology, law, oceanography, management, journalism, political science, and others— to create new ways for ocean communities to flourish.
  • Two awards of $10,000 each will be available for the academic year 2012-2013. The deadline for applications is January 31st, 2012 and successful applicants will be notified in early spring, 2012. Details on the application and submission process can be found at www.marineaffairsprogram.dal.ca
  • The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as “Rio+20”, will be held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil June 20-22, 2012, presents the world leaders, with an opportunity to deliver a new, internationally agreed vision for development that catalyses fundamental changes in our economics towards more social and economic equity and environmental sustainability.
  • The SO-MaD Conference will be held in the Marion McCain Building in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science Administration at Dalhousie University, from 5pm – 9pm on Friday March 30, and 9am – 5pm on Saturday March 31st. Conference admission is free.
  • The conference is targeted towards participants from multiple disciplines, who will be engaged through paper and posters presentations, panel discussions, debates, key note presentations and other innovated mediums for sharing ideas towards finding sustainable solutions to ocean and coastal problems.
  • For information on registration and Abstract submission, please contact [email protected]. Abstract submissions are due by February 10, 2012.

Why the Sobey Fund for Oceans is necessary:

  • One billion people around the world depend on seafood as their primary source of protein
  • 85 per cent of the world’s fisheries are either fully exploited, over exploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion
  • Canada is responsible for more coastline than any other country on the planet
  • Canada’s Oceans contributes about $28 billion to our economy
  • 30 per cent of our oceans must be protected to conserve biodiversity. Less than one per cent of Canada’s ocean space is protected today
  • For 400 years, Atlantic Canada’s fisheries were one of the most productive in the world
  • The groundfish collapse in the early 1990’s cost Canadian taxpayers $3.9 billion dollars

For more information, please contact:
Stacey McCarthy
902-229-6066
[email protected]