Scientists Offer Recommendations to Policymakers on how to Protect Our Seas

Must we take action against marine degradation? Is marine protection really a good social investment? Shall we invest in Marine Protected Areas? Policymakers want to protect our seas, but they also need to factor in the economic aspects of these measures. Scientists and socio-economists are working together, under the PERSEUS Project, to help provide policymakers with key insights and recommendations for marine and maritime sustainable growth.

'PERSEUS' which stands for 'Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research in the Southern EUropean Seas' and is a large-scale research project funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Research Programme (FP7). The PERSEUS Project Co-ordinator, Dr. Evangelos Papathanassiou, explains that 'The PERSEUS research project is a first of its kind in that it specifically targets its results for policymakers, giving them a complete set of tools for designing an effective and innovative evidence-based marine governance framework, specifically tailored for the Mediterranean and Black Seas.' The PERSEUS project brings together over 300 scientists from 53 partners organisations in 21 countries.

The Maltese partner of the PERSEUS project is the International Ocean Institute - Malta Operational Centre (IOI-MOC) at the University of Malta. Malta reaps many benefits from the sea, but it also has a larger ‘portion of the sea’ to protect compared to its land mass - for example,  its territorial waters (12nm) occupy a spatial area 14 times greater than the land mass of the Maltese Islands themselves. According to Dr Alan Deidun from the IOI-MOC, 'Malta’s compliance with a number of onerous EU Directives, namely the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, places on the island state a considerable burden on its limited resources. Participation in a prestigious project like PERSEUS will bring much needed foresight in the field of marine management and policy-making to the Maltese Islands.'

As part of the European Maritime Day activities in Malta this week, the PERSEUS Project organised a workshop for local marine stakeholders raising awareness on marine environment issues. The key findings of PERSEUS to date were further promoted at its exhibition stand and through a presentation to international stakeholders.

Visit the PERSEUS Website for the latest information on the PERSEUS project’s activities, findings and useful tools. For more information on PERSEUS, please contact:
Martha Papathanassiou
Communication Coordinator
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research
Email

Follow PERSEUS on Facebook
Videos on PERSEUS Youtube Channel
Follow PERSEUS on Twitter

Recently, Professor Ing. Cyril Spiteri Staines and Architect & Civil Engineer Ruben Paul Borg, from the University of Malta attended the Energy Globe Award Ceremony held on 16 May 2013 at the Austrian Embassy in Rome. During this ceremony, for which the Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, the Hon. Leo Brincat, was present, Nature Trust (Malta) was awarded the Energy Globe Award 2013 for the 'Xrobb l-Għaġin' Sustainable Development Centre project. The Maltese delegation was accompanied by the Ambassador of Malta in Rome, H.E. Charles Inguanez.

During the event the Executive President of Nature Trust (Malta) was invited to give a short presentation on the implementation of the Xrobb l-Ghagin project and the future plans for this site as an ongoing project concerned with environmental and energy efficiency issues in Malta. He explained how the old abandoned radio station was rehabilitated and transformed into a centre dedicated to education on sustainable development through renewable energy, biodiversity and open spaces for the public. He also described the next target for this site, that to set up a wildlife rehabilitation centre.

Professor Ing. Cyril Spiteri Staines and Perit Ruben Paul Borg had an active role in the rehabilitation of the centre and were responsible for the design of the Renewable Energy Sources, the Repair and Refurbishment Strategies, Energy Efficiency, Waste Reduction and Resource Conservation measures implemented in the Xrobb l-Għaġin project.
 
The Hon. Brincat was invited to give a talk during the awards presentation where he spoke about the fundamental principles of sustainable development and the importance of a culture change to favour sustainability principles in society.

This year 161 countries participated in this Award. During the e-world Environment Day, Energy Globe will display all winning projects in the commercial divisions of the Austrian Embassies all around the world. Energy Globe promotes projects which demonstrate the commitment of people and organisations towards the sustainable future of our planet. Energy Globe said that this year’s National Winner of the Energy Globe Award for Malta was concerned with energy efficiency and focused on specific themes such as energy sources, sustainable waste water treatment, reforestation and the energetic footprint. They  said that the Sustainable Development Centre is a wonderful showcase how to solve our future problems: electricity from wind and solar, thermal insulation of the whole building, rain water and grey water use make the building self-sufficient. And they added that the architectural concept makes it possible to have daylight in the rooms during winter time, while in summer all windows are shaded. Energy Globe even praised that fact that more than 15000 trees were planted on site in order to foster the biodiversity for the island.

Cyril Spiteri Staines and Ruben Paul Borg of the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of the Built Environment respectively have worked in collaboration with Nature Trust so as to make the technological implementations at the Centre at Xrobb l-Għaġin a showcase of RES and Energy Efficiency. The centre hosts two offices managed by the Department of Industrial Electrical Power Conversion for Engineering research in the area of Solar and Micro-Wind energy and intelligent energy control & scheduling. The work carried out so far has led to publications in local and international conferences in the area of Sustainable Buildings and Energy Efficiency.

Cyril Spiteri Staines and Ruben Paul Borg would like to thank the President of Nature Trust, Mr Vince Attard and the project co-ordinator, Mr Orland Bonavia, who were instrumental for the setting up of the collaboration between Nature Trust and the respective Faculties of the University of Malta.

from left to right: Prof. Ing. Cyril Spiteri Staines, Perit Ruben Paul Borg, the Hon. Leo Brincat, Mr Vince Attard, H.E. Charles Iguanez


The Maltese delegation during the Award Ceremony

The University of Malta showcased a large number of its ongoing research and collaborative projects at the European Maritime Day activities held in Malta throughout this week.

Dr Alan Deidun, Senior Lecturer at the IOI-MOC, and Dr. Aaron Micallef, Lecturer within the Department of Physics, delivered talks and screened documentaries to the public on Monday at the St James Cavalier on a number of projects, including PANACEA, MED-JELLYRISK and the CUMECS expedition. The two academics also manned, along with Ms Allanah Bonnici from the IOI-MOC, a booth/stand at the European Maritime Day activities at the Mediterranean Conference Centre over the last two days, at which additional research projects, including EUROFLEETS, BIODIVALUE, CALYPSO and MEDESS4MS, were also featured, besides information on an upcoming seafloor explorationmarine geology course in September.

On Tuesday, Dr Deidun presented a copy of different promotional and educational material on local Marine Protected Areas (MPA's), developed through the PANACEA project, to EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki. Dr. Micallef and Dr. Deidun wish to express their gratitude to the European Maritime Day organisation team at the Ministry for Economy, Investment and Small Business, to the Communications Office of the University of Malta and to the IOI-MOC for supporting, logistically and financially, the participation of the University of Malta at the European Maritime Day.

    

In September 2012 the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) sponsored a research project intended to examine the current situation facing the Tunisian public service and the potential for co-operation between IPAM and Ecole Nazionale D’Amministration (ENA), Tunisia. The co-sponsor for this project was the International Policy Leadership Institute, (IPLI) Paris.

The project, known as the Capstone Research Project, was carried out by three University of Sciences Po, Paris, students following the International Masters in Public Affairs. The three students were Meron Paulos (Ethiopia/USA), Belqes Alzawn (Yemen) and Weijie Lil (China). The research was mentored by Professor Godfrey Pirotta, Director IPAM and Mr Timothy Reno, Director IPLI with input from Mr Mario T. Vassallo, from the Department of Public Policy. Fieldwork research was carried out in Tunis during the winter period.

The final research was presented on 17 May of this year at Sciences Po, Paris. As a result of this research project discussions between IPAM / Department of Public Policy and ENA Tunisia on collaboration have been ongoing and the two sides are moving closer to concluding a co-operation agreement which would include exchanges of students and staff between the two institutes.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has recently published a work entitled 'Endogenous physiological teratogenesis: the Maltese population – a case study'. This joint work prepared by obstetrician-gynaecologist Prof. Charles Savona-Ventura and health psychologist Ms Stephanie Savona-Ventura reviews the Maltese-derived evidence related to the aetiology of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity balancing the role of nature versus nurture.

The evidence suggests that while a genetic element may play a role, the mote important determinant appears to be environmental stimuli starting from intrauterine nutrition, which stimuli affect epigenetic and developmental settings, persisting throughout infanthood and the early childhood period. The importance of the intrauterine environment in determining T2D and obesity risks emphasise the issue of endogenous physiological teratogenesis. Being an environmental-related disorder, the predisposition can be reversed by suitable life-style changes which require continuous reinforcement. The psychological issues behind maintaining the necessary long-term life-style habits are discussed in the final chapter of the book.

The work has been published by LAP Lambert Academic Publishing [ISBN 978-3-659-39978-7] and can be purchased online.

Ms Maria Brown and Dr Phyllisienne Gauci discuss twinning and community learning at the E.S.C.O.T. European Schools’ Gala 2013

Maria Brown and Phyllisienne Gauci attended the E.S.C.O.T. European Schools’ Gala 2013 held in Montecatini (Italy) earlier this month. The purpose of the event was to expose participants from different European communities to an exchange of art, culture and wellness. During a session on 'The importance of twinning in European schools for innovative didactics', Maria and Phyllisienne delivered a presentation on 'Twinning for Community Learning: Nurturing didactics in Municipalities'. The presentation reviews the application of twinning between EU communities to foster community projects that transcend the schools’ physical parameters and dwell on dialogic learning based on the Freirean notion of praxis. Community projects linked to twinning between the Maltese town of Żejtun and the Italian town of Celano (in the region Abruzzo) were showcased as evidence.

Maria Brown lectures on a visiting basis at the Faculty for Social Wellbeing and the Institute for European Studies. Phyllisienne Gauci lectures at the Faculty of Education within the Department of Arts and Languages in Education.

Now in its second issue, 'Postcolonial Directions in Education' is a peer reviewed open access journal produced twice a year. It is a scholarly journal intended to foster further understanding, advancement and reshaping of the field of postcolonial education.

Click here to access the website.

Artist and senior lecturer at the University of Malta Raphael Vella has been invited to participate in an exhibition called 'Personal Structures' which forms part of the Biennale di Venezia, 2013. The exhibition is being held at Palazzo Bembo on the Canal Grande near the Rialto Bridge - a venue that has housed important exhibitions of contemporary art and architecture in recent years.

Curated by Francesca Crudo, Sarah Gold, Carol Rolla and Valeria Romagnini, the exhibition is spread around the whole palace building and brings together works by many artists from different parts of the world, including important names like Gotthard Graubner, Yoko Ono, Roman Opalka, Otto Piene, Arnulf Rainer and Valie Export.  Raphael Vella is being represented by a large series of twelve recent drawings occupying a whole wall. The exhibition opens to the public on 1 June and runs until 24 November, 2013.

Public Lecture at the LSE: Intersubjectivity and Interobjectivity

Dr Gordon Sammut (University of Malta), together with Prof. Martin Bauer (LSE), Prof. Fathali Moghaddam (Georgetown University) and Prof. Jaan Valsiner (Clark University), will be giving a public lecture at the London School of Economics.

The lecture, entitled 'Intersubjectivity and Interobjectivity' will be hosted the Institute of Social Psychology at the London School Economics on 23 May 2013. Recent theoretical developments in social psychology that shed further light on the understanding of intersubjective and interobjective processes in developing an understanding of self and others will be discussed.

Further details are available on the LSE website.

Gordon Sammut (University of Malta), together with Paul Daanen (Argosy University), & Fathali M. Moghaddam (Georgetown University), has edited a new book entitled Understanding the Self and Others: Explorations in Intersubjectivity and Interobjectivity.

Description
How do we, as human beings, come to understand ourselves and others around us? This question could not be more timely or pertinent to the issues facing humankind today. At the heart of many of our world’s most troubling political and social problems lies a divergence, and sometimes a sharp contradiction, in perspectives between nations and cultural groups. To find potential solutions to these seemingly intractable divides, we must come to understand what both facilitates and hinders a meaningful exchange of fundamental ideas and beliefs between different cultural groups.

The discussions in this book aim to provide a better understanding of how we come to know ourselves and others. Bringing together a number of cutting edge researchers and practitioners in psychology and related fields, this diverse collection of thirteen papers draws on psychology, sociology, philosophy, linguistics, communications, and anthropology to explore how human beings effectively come to understand and interact with others. This volume is organised in three main sections to explore some of the key conceptual issues, discuss the cognitive processes involved in intersubjectivity and interobjectivity, and examine human relations at the level of collective processes.

Understanding the Self and Others will appeal to students and scholars of sociology, developmental psychology, philosophy, communication studies, anthropology, identity studies, social and cultural theory, and linguistics.

For further details click here.

To All Academics

The new series of University Matters will commence in October. Ms Patricia Camilleri would like to invite all academics to share their research, activities and projects with her and with the audience of campusFM.

The programme is recorded in English (25mins), preferably on Thursdays at 1000hrs or at 1100hrs. However, different days and times can be arranged if necessary. Ms Camilleri would very much like to record as many programmes as possible in September.

Webcasts of previous interviews can be heard on the campusFM website.

Europe’s World is the only independent Europe-wide policy journal, produced in association with some 100-plus leading European think tanks and academic institutions. Since its launch in 2005 it has become the premier ideas platform for new thinking on political, economic and social issues, read by over 100,000 of the most influential decision makers and opinion formers across Europe.

Published every 4 months, Europe’s World’s objective is to stimulate the much needed debate over topical policy issues by encouraging citizens and stakeholders within civil society, media, academia, business and government, to engage in a series of genuine and informed political debates which reach beyond the Brussels village.

To date over 300 authors, including Heads of State, corporate chiefs, top academics, leading NGO activists or policymakers, have contributed articles, firmly cementing Europe’s World’s reputation as a platform for new thinking and ground-breaking ideas.

Europe’s World’s newly extended website, EuropesWorld.org, is designed to further promote debate on the policy challenges facing Europe. It spans articles and reactions to articles published in Europe’s World, but is not limited to the journal since it also features studies and reports from think tanks throughout Europe.

Its aim is to give readers direct access to the latest in policy thinking across the EU, and encourage visitors to submit their own reports and comment on any of the contributions featured on the website. 

The Future of Harmonised Environmental Information
The press release is available online.

Information and updates on the research carried out by the Joint Research Centre European Commission is available here. Interested persons wishing to seek additional information about visiting the JRC institutes and/or participating in such projects should get in touch with the JRC National.

Contact Point:
Dr Maria Attard at the University of Malta
Dr Jennifer Cassingena Harper at the Malta Council for Science & Technology