HR: 0800h
AN: ED24A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: IAI Capacity Building Activities in the Americas: Fostering Multinational and Multidisciplinary Research
AU: * Ohira, M S
EM: marcella@dir.iai.int
AF: Marcella Ohira Schwarz, C/O Inpe Av. Dos Astronautas, 1758, São José Dos Campos, SP 12227-000, Brazil
AB: The IAI's Training and Education (T&E) activities are designed to encourage capacity building in the Americas and are developed within and in parallel with the IAI research programs in global environmental change (GEC). The IAI has various training priorities: (1) support for graduate students in the form of fellowships through research programs; (2) development of IAI Training Institutes in Interdisciplinary Sciences and Science-Policy Fora; and (3) support for technical workshops, scientific meetings, and seminars. It becomes increasingly evident that institutions such as IAI must provide training and support to policy and decision makers who deal with environmental issues. The IAI Training Institutes emphasize an exchange of information about the various scientific languages, needs, and methodologies of disciplines that study GEC. Particular attention is given to socio-economic impacts and ways in which nations can gain a better understanding of the complex mechanisms, degrees of change, causes, and consequences — and therefore, plan sound public and private policies to minimize problems and maximize opportunities. The IAI has also implemented a Training Institute Seed Grant (TISG) Program as an assessment activity of the Training Institutes to further encourage network building and multinational and multidisciplinary collaboration among its 19 member countries in the Americas. By fostering the development of such new multidisciplinary, multinational teams, the IAI ensures a future generation of professionals who will be engaged in IAI research programs and networks and will lead the integrated science programs in the next decades. Furthermore, IAI has organized Science-Policy Fora, which focus on the science- policy interface and ways to incorporate scientific information into policy and decision-making processes. Participants discussed what scientific information is available, what aspects need to be better understood, translation of scientific information for the nonscientific community, potential uses of technical information, and policy issues that should be incorporated into the scientific community's agenda. Participants are individuals from governmental agencies, national and international organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), universities, and private companies. Various other T&E-based initiatives that contribute to the building of scientific capacity in the Americas are supported by the IAI. Workshops, seminars, conferences, and other venues encourage the exchange of information and data providing scientists and professionals in global change related fields many opportunities to interact and benefit from multinational, multidisciplinary collaborations.
UR: http:www.iai.int
DE: 0855 Diversity
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly