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Bi-regional platforms

44 PACE-Net Key Stakeholder Conference, Brussels, 20th – 23rd March 2012: Strengthening Pacific-European Collaboration in Research, Development, and Innovation.

The PACE-Net Project, an EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) INCO-Net project, together with the Ministry of Sciences and Economic Affairs -Saxony -Anhalt, would like to invite you to participate in our flagship dialogue event, called the PACE-Net Key Stakeholder Conference, Brussels, 20th – 23rd March 2012.

Climate change has been identified as one of the major societal challenges of our time, not just for Europe, but also for other regions, including the Pacific. As climate change associated risks directly affect people and ecosystems of the Pacific, the event’s main topic will be: Climate Change: in relation to Water, Agriculture and Forestry, Natural Hazards, Fisheries, and Mid-Term Research & Innovation Policies in the Pacific.
The interactive conference will include:
1) Presentations of funding opportunities for the Pacific with networking possibilities
2) Thematic workshops on the climate change topics and the research, development & innovation policies in the Pacific
3) High level policy dialogue to discuss the priority research, development, and innovation, issues from the workshops in view of the interaction between the S&T Community, EC directorates, the EU-external action services, EIB, and further funding organizations. We invite you, as part of your conference participation, to contribute an abstract for consideration by one of the thematic Workshops which are part of the conference program. The focus of the abstract is your assessment of the needs for research, capacity development, and innovation, as well as possible funding or other opportunities to meet these needs for issues addressed in one of the thematic workshops.
We expect that you will benefit from your engagement by:
i) sharing and developing new knowledge;
ii) contributing to, and learning about thematic priority setting and diverse funding opportunities;
iii) networking for cooperation actions with participants from European and Pacific policy, research, development, innovation, and reinsurance sectors,
iv) being further involved with PACE-Net for joint follow-up activities.
Registration: https://www.pt-it.de/ptconference/conference/PACE032012

 


The first bi-regional platform of the PACE-Net project was held on July 7th  in Brisbane with more than 60 participants from Pacific ACP countries and overseas territories (OCT), New Zealand, Australia and Europe.  

The platform concluded on Thursday, the 7th of July, after four days of dialogue and exchange. Discussions were kicked off on the first day by presentations on analyses and inventories of cooperation programs in science and technology in the Pacific, which had been carried out by the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Assessments by the University of Papua New Guinea are equally being undertaken to supplement these analyses. During the dialogue, Pacific representatives insisted on the importance of understanding Pacific region science and technology priorities as a basis for developing actions of mutual interest with European partners. A range of European financial instruments were also presented and discussed, to understand their purposes and the eligibility requirements.  

This event, jointly organized by IRD and the ANU at the new Ecosciences Precinct, brought together experts and representatives of key Pacific and European stakeholder institutions, as well as representatives from the 10 partner institutions of the PACE-Net consortium. The highlights of the week included the expert thematic workshops on the 3rd of July, focusing on the topics of climate change, water, energy, health an d ecosystems. 

 The experts’ conclusions and recommendations will be communicated to the European Commission Directorate for Research and Innovation, so that they can be taken into account for the next phase of scientific programming. The four-day event was also attended by two members of the project’s External Advisory Board who delivered their opinions and recommendations on the preliminary project results and forthco ming project actions. The next bi-regional platform is planned for March 2012 in Brussels, to be organized by the German partner (IB-DLR) of the PACE-Net consortium. In the interim, activities will continue according to the project’s agenda and the consortium will endeavor to maintain a strong and sustainable network of Pacific and European actors with mutual science and technology interests, who can work together to ensure  positive Pacific region development.

The PACE-Net project consortium includes 11 research institutions from the European Union (France, Italy, Germany, Malta) and the Pacific region (Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand), as well as two Pacific regional organizations (SPC and USP). The network is coordinated by the French IRD centre in New Caledonia, and aims to promote scientific co-operation in the natural and social sciences between Pacific and European institutes.