News

CERC.OCEAN is a proud sponsor of Mirella and the programme, a list of sponsors, including CERC.OCEAN can be seen HERE.

The CERC.OCEAN grant, through Dr. Doug Wallace, is pleased to announce the sponsorship of Brazilian student, Mirella de Oliveira Leis, to attend the International Ocean Institute's (IOI) 2016 Training Programme in Halifax, NS, from May 18th to July 15th, 2016.

The IOI, which is based in Halifax, is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, with an aim to promote responsible ocean governance and the sustainable use of coastal and ocean resources in Canada. The Training Programme has been conducted at Dalhousie University since 1981, when it was first developed by Elisabeth Mann Borgese. This two-month programme is centered around ocean governance, in particular: policy, law, and management. This training programme, which is open to students from all over the world, consists of over 200 hours in the classroom, and includes lectures, coursework, disucssions, field trips, and an international round-table. 

Mirella de Oliveira Leis, who the CERC.OCEAN grant is proudly sponsoring to attend this programme, is from Brazil, but has only recently moved back home after working on her MSc in Geography (supervisor: Ratana Chuenpagdee) from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Her thesis focuses on using an analytical framework to analyze the main features of the natural, social, and governing system comprising a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Southern Brazil. This work was done in order to identify governability challenges and opportunities towards the implementation of this particular MPA, where small-scale fishing activities take place and constitue an important livelihood. 

As a 25 year old woman from a developing country where many issues are yet to be addressed on coastal and ocean governance, ... I would like to aquire the knowledge to become a decision maker in Brazil in the near future.

                                                                         - Mirella Leis

Mirella also has a BSc from the Universidade Federal do Parana in Brazil and has been involved in the Too Big To Ignore fisheries project and has volunteer experience from Rio+20 and in environmental education at the Ubatuba Aquarium in Brazil. Mirella is currently living in Brazil and expects to finish her MSc in May.

Being part of this training program would also be a great opportunity to network with people from other parts of the world and share experiences.

                                                                        - Mirella Leis

Learn about the International Oceans Institute HERE, and check out more information on the 2016 Training Programme HERE.