2011 Workshop on Reef Resilience - Egypt

Egypt: New Workshop on Reef Resilience from 24th to 30th October

Overview

Nahdet el Mahrousa’s Green Arm, in collaboration with Reef Check e.V. and the Coral Reef Alliance will be conducting a workshop on coral reef resilience to climate change from 24 – 30. October. The workshop conducted by Dr. Moshira Hassan, Vice President of Reef Check Germany, will consist of 4 evening sessions in Cairo and a full day trip to the reefs of the southern Ain Sokhna area.

Objectives

The participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change on coral reefs and the effects of multiple forms of human-induced stress on the reefs. They will develop an increased ability to adapt strategies to fit the needs of Egypt’s reefs and to enhance reef resilience against stress caused by the planet’s changing climate. The participants, consisting of young people from different professional fields, will work together to form a multidisciplinary group, capable of developing and carrying out activities towards enhancement of reef resilience.

Ideal Participants for the Training

We are seeking up to 10 young professionals in one or more of the following fields: coral reefs/ conservation, political activism, media, management /governance/ policy. You are an enthusiastic young professional with background and experience related to the causes and effects of climate change. You are creative and willing to learn and to develop and implement projects that build in reef resilience to climate change.

Requirements

• To ensure that all participants have the same basic knowledge you must have successfully completed the online course (approx. 6 hours) prior to the workshop (Conservation International.)

• Participants must commit to attend all sessions in Cairo and the full day trip to the Gulf of Suez on Friday 28. October 2011, where we will snorkel at 2 different sites.
• Participants must be proficient in English and in Arabic.

Note:

• The ability to swim is neither required nor is preference given to people with snorkeling experience. Non-swimmers will be given life jackets and receive direct professional supervision.
• Women are especially encouraged to apply. Women wearing the hijab will be accommodated within reason.

 

Costs

The workshop and the online course are covered by our sponsors. Expenses for lunch and fuel during the field trip will be shared by all participants. You may be required to bring your own snorkeling equipment or to rent it in Cairo before the trip.

 

Application & Information

If you are interested in attending this workshop please send a short application stating your interest in the workshop, your field of expertise and your current profession to Ms. Clothilde Mraffko (Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein!) or Dr. Moshira Hassan (Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein!).

Please also visit our websites:

Reef Check:  www.reefcheck.de, www.reefcheck.org

Reef Resilience: www.reefresilience.org, http://reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C1_Intro.html

The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL): http://www.coral.org , http://www.facebook.com/coralreefalliance

Nahdet El Mahrousa‘s Green Arm: http://www.nahdetmasr.org/greenarm

 

Dates and Venue of Workshop

Date	Time	Location
Monday October 24, 2011	18 – 22h	NM office
Tuesday October 25, 2011	18 – 22h	NM office
Wednesday October 26, 2011	18 – 22h	NM office
Friday October 28, 2011	08 – 18h	Gulf of Suez day trip
Sunday October 30, 2011	18 – 22h	NM office

 

Nahdet El Mahrousa’s (NM) office
18 Mahmoud Bassiouny street (Off Groppi at Talaat Harb square)
2nd Floor.
Downtown, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: (202) 2575 1888
http: www.nahdetmasr.org

 

Language of Workshop

To be able to successfully develop and implement any conservation program it is necessary to be able to understand and communicate with the appropriate target groups in speech and in writing. It is therefore necessary to be able to understand and use reports and scientific data in their original form, most of which is in English. It is equally important to be able to convey the ideas to a broader local audience, including people of little education as well as to a highly literate and professional audience. Therefor we will also conduct certain sections in Arabic.

 

Workshop Instructors

We: The workshop will be led by Dr. Moshira Hassan, Vice President of Reef Check Germany. Ms. Lama El Hatow and Ms. Dalia Abulfotuh will conduct several sessions and assist during the field trip. External specialists are invited to contribute to individual sessions.

You: You are expected to participate and to contribute with your own expertise and ideas, so that we all benefit from the workshop. Each participant will also be asked to present a particular aspect of coral reefs and/or climate change, in which they feel comfortable, to the whole group in a professional manner. During the workshop the participants will break into smaller groups and you will be asked to present this work to all.

 

Workshop Organizers

The workshop will be led by Dr. Moshira Hassan, Vice President of Reef Check Germany.  Ms. Lama El Hatow and Ms. Dalia Abulfotuh will conduct several sessions and assist during the field trip. The Workshop is a partnership between Nahdet El Mahrousa’s Green Arm and Reef Check.

About the Green Arm:

The Green Arm of Nahdet El-Mahrousa NGO was established in 2009 as the environmental arm of the NGO to conduct regular environmental campaigning and awareness activities and promoting healthier lifestyles and empowering youth to address pressing sustainable development issues in Egypt. Environment has recently come to the forefront of Egypt’s development goals, as a prerequisite to social equity and welfare. There is a large gap in guidance for environmental action as noted from the many short-lived environmental initiatives despite the growing numbers of enthusiasts. The Think Tank of the Green Arm, currently under establishment, aims to promote research-based advocacy and encourage the culture of planning in Egypt based on solid facts and objective analysis of case studies in Egypt. Apart from the Think Tank, the Green Arm has an Outreachcomponent consisting of a network of environmental groups and activists that collaborate in environmental campaigning targeting the masses of our society and providing regular awareness sessions and workshops.

 

Biographies:

Dr. Moshira Hassan is a marine ecologist specializing in coral reefs, coral diversity and conservation. Her main topics of interest include preservation of biodiversity, integrated coastal zone management, ecology of desert plants and climate change. Dr. Hassan was a Professor of Biology at the American University in Cairo (AUC) from 2002 to 2009 where she taught courses related to general biology, principles of systematics, environmental science, and marine ecology. Her Doctoral research was an interdisciplinary work on Bio-erosion of coral reefs in Jordan and Egypt. She has also worked closely with several organizations on climate change and coral reefs including Reef Check, the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA), Greenpeace, National Geographic, and the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). Reef Check Egypt was founded by Dr. Hassan and received the Honors from Greenpeace for her work.  Dr. Hassan wishes to encourage diving tourism in Egypt in a sustainable manner and hence has been a diving instructor since 1989. As well as being a lecturer, Dr. Hassan has conducted several trainings and capacity building seminars for people of different educational levels, and ethnic & social backgrounds in the Red Sea and South East Asia in coastal ecology, monitoring and management.

Websites of Reef Check: www.reefcheck.de and www.reefcheck.org. 

Dr. Moshira Hassan’s CV: https://sites.google.com/site/moshirahassan/Home/about

 

Ms. Dalia Abulfotuh is currently employed as a Competitiveness Research Expert at a think tank called the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC), and has worked with several NGOs for many years on environmental issues and sustainability. Ms. Abulfotuh has a Bachelors degree from the American University in Cairo (AUC) in Political Science with a minor in Biology, and a Masters degree from the London School of Economics (LSE) in Environment and Development. Ms. Abulfotuh recently participated in a coral reef resilience workshop with HEPCA.

 

Ms. Lama El Hatow is currently employed as Environment and Social Consultant at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank subsidiary group. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in a joint program between Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) in the Netherlands on Sustainable Development. Her Doctoral Dissertation is on Good Water Governance of the Nile River Basin in Egypt under Climate Change and other Water Stresses.