I am pleased to announce that following the success of 2016’s OceansOnline, this event will return!

What is it? OceansOnline focuses on how marine scientists, conservationists, and educators can use internet tools for research, collaboration, and public outreach. It is open to anyone interested in marine science or conservation topics.

When is it? We are continuing to partner with the International Marine Conservation Congress, an interdisciplinary ocean science and conservation conference held every two years. IMCC5 will be June 24-29th 2018, with OceansOnline on June 29th 2018!

Where is it? IMCC5 and OceansOnline will take place in Kuching, Sarawak in Malaysia!

How does it work? The core of OceansOnline  is a series of one hour facilitated discussions on a variety of topics. In these facilitated discussions, experts guide a conversation involving the whole room. These dialogues, based on the premise that the collective knowledge of the audience is greater than that of the presenters, are much more informal and participatory than a typical conference presentation. There are also hands-on training workshops focusing on learning a particular tool, and brief demonstrations of new tools or strategies.

How do I propose a facilitated discussion, workshop, or tool demonstration? Stay tuned! IMCC5 and OceansOnline will issue a call for abstracts in a few months. OceansOnline abstracts will be submitted through the same interface as IMCC5 abstracts, and there will be an option to indicate that your proposal is for OceansOnline.

How do I register? OceansOnline will be an optional add-on to IMCC5, accessible through the main IMCC5 registration page. Registration will not be open for several months, so stay tuned!

How do I find out more? Follow OceansOnline on Facebook and Twitter. I’ll also post updates here on Southern Fried Science, as well as on my personal Facebook and twitter pages.