Photo by Viridiana Jimenez-Moratalla
On June 20-22 2023, MEOPAR was represented at the second edition of Avenir Maritime, the joined conference from the Réseau Québec Maritime (RQM) and the Institut France-Québec Maritime (IFQM). Associate Scientific Co-Director Fanny Noisette, and Research Program Manager Isabelle Tremblay, attended the event organized to promote sustainable maritime development in the province of Québec. This year, the conference was in partnership with the Port of Québec and was held right on the waterfront at the cruise terminal! The conference was an opportunity to bring together the French-speaking maritime community from all sectors of research and innovation, to present the latest advances in the field, strengthen the links forged and create a place of exchange to address the major challenges of sustainable maritime development. With over 200 participants from all sectors (university, college, HQP, industry, NGO, federal government, provincial government, municipalities, and community representatives including Indigenous communities), this event brought together people from diverse disciplines (science, technology, society, and culture, as well as health) that all had a common interest: the sustainable development of the St. Lawrence waterway.
In addition to building on relationships with RQM and its community, and representing our network, MEOPAR Research Program Manager led a workshop in support of the development of a community of practice in Québec. This workshop was a stepping stone in launching communities of practice in Québec, an initiative supported by MEOPAR which is providing expertise to RQM. The RQM specifically targets three main themes, all supporting the sustainable maritime development of the St. Lawrence:
- Public policies and maritime
- Sustainable and smart shipping
- Social innovation and maritime
During the workshop, attendees were engaged in a brainstorming/co-construction exercise to facilitate the collaborative development of ideas for potential CoP for RQM CoP Program which will accept submissions until July 28, 2023. The workshop was well attended, and participants continued to engage throughout lunch! This reflects the interest and needs for CoP in Québec to address regional priorities and needs.
Photos by Viridiana Jimrnrz-Moratalla
This collaboration on CoP is not the first initiative for which MEOPAR and RQM have partnered. Over the years, the two networks fruitfully worked on multiple initiatives that fostered deep collaborations between researchers from Québec and the rest of Canada:
- RQM-MEOPAR joint call for proposals
- The Tracer Release eXperiment (TReX) project in the St. Lawrence
- RQM-MEOPAR TReX Graduate Students and Postdoc Awards
Finally, we saw the art and science exhibition “Fathom the Depths of the Saint Lawrence Estuary: Art & Science” which traveled from the University of New Brunswick (UNB) to Québec City for Avenir Maritime. This exhibit features the photographs of Jean-Christophe Lemay, a Rimouski-based nature photographer, and the poetry of a team from the Department of Letters and Humanities at the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR). The photographs document life aboard the research vessel Coriolis II, where a scientific team, led by Jean-Carlos Montero-Serrano (UQAR) and Audrey Limoges (UNB), mapped the marine environments of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. This scientific cruise was part of the research project entitled “Monitoring natural hazards during coastal to offshore sediment remobilization and its impacts on primary productivity dynamics in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary” co-funded by MEOPAR and RQM.
Photos by Isabelle Tremblay
MEOPAR’s engagement at Avenir Maritime in Québec City was a pivotal moment for discussing sustainable maritime development and fostering communities of practice. The conference brought together diverse professionals, united by their dedication to the St. Lawrence waterway’s sustainable future. MEOPAR led a workshop, facilitating collaborative discussions and generating ideas for potential CoPs. The exhibition “Fathom the Depths of the Saint Lawrence Estuary: Art & Science” showcased the beauty of the marine environment and highlighted successful art-science collaborations supported by MEOPAR and RQM. Together, we’re driving positive change for a thriving maritime future.
Questions? Contact isabelle.tremblay@meopar.ca
#AvenirMaritime #SustainableDevelopment #CommunitiesOfPractice
