Between 23rd and 28th of July 2023, in Lagos, Nigeria, the ‘1st International Workshop of the Network for African Volcanologists’, will take place. The ‘Network of African Volcanologists’ (NAV) will also be launched, at the event.
Goals
The goal of this event is to bring African Volcanologists together from across the globe and officially launch the Network of African Volcanologists “NAV”, and produce a document defining its structure, goals and mission.
In addition to this main aim, the workshop will further discussion subjects related to the state of Volcanology in Africa, i.e. volcano education, research and monitoring. Hence the below subject will be further be discussed:
– Evaluate and discuss the state and availability of infrastructures for Volcano Research and Monitoring;
– Volcano Hazards Assessment;
– Volcano Risk Reduction in each of the African country with volcanoes particularly the active.
– Evaluate and discuss the qualification of local volcano monitoring and volcano hazards assessment scientific teams in each of these country;
– Evaluate and discuss the availability of universities with volcanology curricula on the African continent, and other disciplines related to volcanology such as geophysics, seismology, geochemistry, volcano hazards and risk assessment.
– Discuss the strategies of improving the public knowledge of the results of volcano research among the population on the African continent, as well as education on volcanic hazards and risks.
– Establish regional and continental collaboration between African institutions devoted to volcano science, i.e., volcano research centers or institutes, observatories, and universities.
Establishment of NAV
The establishment of a Network for African Volcanologists (NAV) can help to foster a community of practice that can work together to address some of the above challenges and overcome the implied limitations.
Our NAV would serve as a platform for researchers on the African continent and in the diaspora to get to know each other, easily interact to share experiences, and carry out constructive projects to contribute to international collaborations in the Earth and Space Sciences.
The NAV will create a forum for many geoscientists in developing countries, motivate them and help them get involved in high-impact research to create new knowledge applicable to African volcanoes and worldwide. This can be done through equipment and resource sharing, efficient mobilization, and by creating synergies between international principal investigators and local counterparts, ensuring research coordination and output within the project timelines.
The NAV will also be a “pool of expertise” to which the younger generations can easily look for mentors, supervisors, and external examiners who can help fill any gaps and guarantee high-quality research outputs. The NAV also seeks to promote volcanological studies within universities across the continent, enhance genuine international collaboration and training in volcanology in a sustainable and beneficial manner, and facilitate access to data and methods for African postgraduates and early-career researchers.
On the belief that a strong representation of African volcanism requires well-trained personnel, the IYBSSD2022 should be an excellent opportunity for African volcanologists to get started and proceed with the gathering of researchers and build up strategies to develop basic and advanced volcanological sciences on the continent.
Find more about the event here.
