Mundus maris

Chantal Abord-Hugon

has worked for more than 30 years in project management and coordination and is currently the coordinator of the Global Strategy for Arts and Culture. This ambitious social project puts arts and culture at the service of the sustainable development of the Acadian community in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and is based on collaboration with various sectors of society.

She was previously responsible for setting up and running a public engagement programme linking local and international development issues. She has worked particularly with women in coastal communities in Canada and internationally as facitlitator in organising and planning development strategies.

Anna Balzerini

Geologist from the University of Turin, Italy, with a specialisation in Environmental and Applied Geology; working in Belgium since 1992; expertise in science communication, environment sustainability and natural resources preservation.

Francesca Conti

Science journalist with a scientific background. She is CEO of the science communication agency Formicablu S.r.l., where she manages different projects for institutional bodies, NGOs and private companies

Malcolm Dickson

is Country Program Manager for Egypt at WorldFish. He previously served as Senior Scientist at WorldFish for three years. Prior to joining WorldFish in 2012, he was an aquaculture and small-scale fisheries consultant with more than 30 years experience in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and Europe. He also served as the Aquaculture Editor for Fish Farmer magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in Aquaculture and an M.Sc. in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management from the University of Stirling (UK) and a B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh (UK).

Thierno Diouf

Programme manager at Brussels Regional Public Service with higher education as a Geographer with a specialisation in integrated water resources management and geomatics.

He taught several years geography and environment study and is very interested in environmental education.

Mónica Edwards Schachter, PhD

is trained in both natural and social sciences and works as research and consultant in social innovation, creativity and sustainability education. She is an engineer specialised in innovation and holds a PhD in Science Education with a pioneering dissertation on the planetary crisis with special focus on climate change challenges. Mónica received a prize for Redes para la Paz (Networks for Peace, 2004), an essay on the interrelationships between peace, environment and sustainable development and won the IBM Award with a role-playing game for scientific reasoning and decision-making in the Science in Action contest (Madrid, 2012). She has worked on international curriculum development with Latin American institutions, project evaluations and advised both national and various European Commission services.

Lisa Hentschel

Founder of the 'Oceanphilosophers', a network of young marine researchers and people interested in marine life. Within the framework of the university competition "Show Your Research", she develops an interdisciplinary group, an interactive role play game about the oceans and their users. It tries to bring together people from science, society and art. As part of her educational work, she studies how people learn through experience and would like to set up the ScienceSail ThinkTank - a sailing and communication platform for people who want to engage for and exchange about the sea and experience it at the same time. She holds a Master in Coastal and Marine Management, Germany

Salima Jonniaux

works at the Municipal Administration of Anderlecht - Brussels agglomeration - in the Urban Planning Inspectorate, where her responsibilities are focused on ensuring respect for the protection of the natural and urban environment and public health.

She holds a Master from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Her thesis was about the loss of fishery resources off the coast of Senegal based on field research in Senegal.

Juma Edwine Nabiswa

Programs Officer at Eco Ethics Kenya with responsibilities to develop the calendar of activities for Eco Clubs of schools and promoting mangrove rehabilitation drives.

Alain Le Sann

Retired teacher, committed for more than 30 years in the defense of the rights of fishermen and artisanal fishing. He is a member of the International Collective in Support of Fish Workers (ICSF) for more than 20 years. He is also the president of the Collectif Pêche & Développement and founding president of the World Fishermen's Film Festival in Lorient.

Yomi Marcus

is a Teacher at an elementary school and health coach in Calgary, Canada. She has a background in psychology and interest in community and global development.

Nkiru Niemann

is a graduate of theatre arts and experienced in the international circuit. She is the Director International Affairs & Production at Green Me Film Festival for Sustainability in Berlin and has brought the festival to several international locations, including her native Nigeria, where Mundus maris was able to support the maiden event last year.

Christiane Paulus, PhD

started her career as research assistant at the J. Nehru University in Delhi and at the Enquete Commission of the German Bundestag on the "Protection of the Earth's Atmosphere", the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Reactor Safety (BMUB). For a year, she was seconded to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). After her return to the BMUB, she became head of unit for national and international protection areas. Since July 2014, Christiane Paulus is Deputy Director General for "Nature Conservation" at the BMUB and also Chair of the German National Commission on Nature Conservation ("Man and the Biosphere").

Geja Roosjen

is a cultural anthropologist and has a background in international sustainable development. A few years ago she has done research in Senegal about sustainable small scale fisheries in Yoff; a fishermen community. The World Oceans Day is a very good initiative to help the public to understand the impact of human actions on the Ocean, including overfishing, pollution and climate change. Geja is curious to read the stories submitted this year and excited to be able to contribute to a sustainable management of our oceans.

Jan Seys

Head of communication at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium, and chair of the European Marine Board Communications Panel (EMBCP). As a marine biologist he used to work in marine and estuarine research in Belgium/Netherlands (10 years) and as a managing-director (2 years) of a bilateral Kenya-Belgium cooperation in marine sciences. Now Jan is mostly active in marine science communication and ocean literacy.

Claudia Wosnitza Mendo, PhD

is a German Scientist working since 1978 with the Peruvian Marine Institute (IMARPE). During the last years before retirement she was an advisor to the Scientific Director of IMARPE. Her main field of investigation is related to fisheries issues, introducing fish population dynamics courses in the curricula of various Peruvian universities and doing research for sustainability and fisheries management. Ultimately she also entered the field of Climate Change impact on fisheries. Among others, she collaborated for some years (2005-2008) with INCOFISH, an international research collaboration, a Star Project sponsored by European Union, and more recently published a reconstruction of Peru's real fisheries catches.

Maria del Carmen Patricia Morales (PhD)

is the Mundus maris Board member supporting and coordinating the work of the international Jury for text and illustrated submissions to the Mundus maris Awards contest 2017.