The launch meetings of the DiDEM program (Dialogue Science-Decision Makers for Integrated Management of Coastal and Marine Environments) took place over two days on May 19 and 20, 2021, online and in two languages (French / English). The Kick-off has been an opportunity to bring together all the partners of the program and to present the activities and the partnership context. The first Steering Committee (CoPIL) happened the following day and allowed the funders and the coordination team to review the organization of the program and the schedule of activities for 2021 in more detail.
Kick-off – May, 19th 2021
During the Kick-off meeting, the DiDEM program and its strategy were presented. The promoters of the program intervened reminding that DiDEM:
- Supports innovation through "action-research" (J. Etienne, FFEM).
- Aligns with other large-scale environmental programs, such as the “Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development” (UN) and the “Priority Research Program to Combat Climate Change” (MESRI) (A. Lagrange, MESRI).
- Is multidisciplinary and fits in well with the "science of sustainability" approach supported by the IRD, which allows solutions to be co-constructed (M. Guyader, IRD).
- Brings triple relevance to the IRD's objectives: from a thematic, geographic and partnership point of view (L. Cocogne, IRD).
Members of the research team specified the geographical perimeter covered by the DiDEM program and its distribution into "workshop zones" (Islands and Archipelagos, Deltas and Estuaries, High Seas, Remote and Deep Seabed), the research themes (Connectivity, Coastal erosion, Governance, Protected areas, Macro-waste pollution) as well as the methodologies and innovative tools developed for each of them (e.g. participatory observatories, cognitive graphs, legal tutorials, prospective analysis, decryption of the international law of the sea , mediation tools, etc.)
The guest speakers (J. Bosire from the Nairobi Convention, T. Andrew from the SAPPHIRE program, G. Bessero from the Monaco Explorations, M. Leone from IDRC) intervened to present their organizations, as well as the close collaborative links that exist with the DiDEM program.
Steering Committee – May the 20th 2021
The DiDEM first Steering Committee gathered the main funders of the program and the coordination team. The objective of the Committee was to present the organization of the coordination and governance of the program on subjects such as reporting, the communication plan, or open science.
Committee members agreed to meet once a year, keeping an open channel of communication for important events or highlights. The 2021 activity schedule was presented by the teams and it was an opportunity to discuss possible synergies with ongoing projects in the region.