Science diplomats unite in Warsaw
幸运飞艇计划 law scholar Joanna Siekiera spoke on ocean science diplomacy as part of the reunion of the 2020 Warsaw Science Diplomacy School.
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On 8-10 April 2022, the Warsaw Science Diplomacy School (WSDS) organized a reunion weekend in Warsaw, Poland. The event was a commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of the online WSDS in 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was a collaboration between the Warsaw based European Academy of Diplomacy, the Horizon 2020 project InsSciDE 鈥� Inventing a shared Science Diplomacy for Europe and the Paris based European Academy of Diplomacy. Throughout the pandemic, the partners made efforts to continue the unique network of young scholars from various countries and disciplines, all using science diplomacy (SciDip) in their research methods and professional portfolio.
Postdoctoral fellow Joanna Siekiera represented the University of Bergen (幸运飞艇计划), both digitally in 2020 and in person in 2022. Attending WSDS 2020 enabled her to deepen her interests in ocean diplomacy and ocean governance. Due to her substantial list of achievements, Siekiera was invited by the organizers of the 2022 reunion to give a flash talk, as well as to lead a discussion group for the students of the European Academy of Diplomacy (Academy of Young Diplomats trainees), gathered WSDS alumni and guests cooperating with InsSciDE.
The topic of her lecture was 鈥淥cean Science Diplomacy鈥�, where she presented not only the subject related findings, but also her two years professional and academic progress during the challenging times of COVID-19. The latter part was especially appreciated by the early-stage scholars and students from various continents who are looking to improve their career opportunities and would like to explore a path in ocean science.
The first day of the workshop was organized around the networking possibilities with a goal to create a WSDS alumni association. Participants were welcomed by the InsSciDE coordinators Claire Mays and Pascal Griset. The keynote speaker was Polish academic Dr. Ma艂gorzata Smieszek, who is currently working at UiT 鈥� the Arctic University of Norway in Troms酶. She gave a powerful talk on SciDip and international collaboration in the Arctic.
Day two was opened by the founder of the European Academy of Diplomacy Professor Katarzyna Pisarska with her inspiring speech on women鈥檚 leadership. The following panel session was held by the female alumnae: 鈥淲omen's Leadership in Science Diplomacy鈥� by the Albanian researcher Oltjana Beci; 鈥淧ostcolonialism and Science Diplomacy in the Global South鈥� by the Guatemalan academic Dr. Kleinsy Bonilla; and 鈥淥cean Science Diplomacy鈥� by Dr. Joanna Siekiera.
The afternoon sessions were divided among WSDS alumni, who touched upon the following subjects: 鈥淔aith-based organizations in environmental diplomacy鈥� by the Italian researcher Nino Puglisi; 鈥淕ame theory for science diplomacy鈥� by the Australian academic Nathan McMahon; 鈥淵outh in science diplomacy鈥� by the French medical doctor Farah Ouechtati; 鈥淕lobal health diplomacy鈥� by the Zimbabwean research project coordinator Zviko Manjengwah; and 鈥淰accine diplomacy鈥� by the Brazilian project coordinator Leonardo Rodarte.
The last day of the workshop, Sunday 10 April, was devoted to the institutional arrangements of the WSDS association. All participants agreed to continue this SciDip path, which turned out to be one of the most beneficial and unique research tools in our career. The effects of that journey were visible in a multitude of jointly written articles, launching of new grants and research projects, as well as multinational and cross disciplinary friendships which were born during countless lockdowns and survived the pandemic.
