In April 2023, Enahoro Owowenu participated in a Design Thinking in practice workshop. The workshop organised by the African Climate and Development Initiative of the University of Cape town was hosted at the East London International Convention Centre in South Africa. The programme was aimed at building participants’ capacity to use the design thinking approach for creating human-centered innovative solutions that addresses climate-related issues.

Enahoro and other participants at the Design Thinking workshop East London, South Africa

An innovative model for continuous water supply, designed by Enahoro’s group at the workshop.

In June 2023, Enahoro took part in the 60th Annual Congress of the Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists (SASAqS) which was held at the Lord Charles hotel in Somerset West, South Africa. The doctoral student shared research findings and insights on microplastic pollution with the broader aquatic scientific community, water resource managers, experts, and professionals. Following the presentation, Enahoro further engaged with colleagues with similar research interests from other universities, forging new networks for future collaborations.

Enahoro and other colleagues at the 2023 SASAqS Conference in Cape town, South Africa

In August, Enahoro alongside Edgar Tumwesigye, another AWaRMN doctoral student, participated in a one-week long concluding conference of the third cohort of the South Africa/Norway (SANO) Exchange Programme also called Interns for sustainability. The programme which is part of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Action Ocean Plastic Waste Project, was aimed at inspiring and motivating students and young researchers to engage in topics related to combatting ocean plastic waste and inspiring action in pursuit of the United Nations SDG 14. The concluding conference was held in Trondheim, Norway from 13 – 19 August 2023. The SANO Exchange programme was jointly operated with Sustainable Seas Trust (SST) in South Africa. The third cohort was launched in December 2022 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Teams of interns, coordinators and mentors worked on plastic pollution related topics during this period. Enahoro was one of the coordinators who supervised the activities of one of the groups (Group 3A) on a project titled: the plastic value chain and the origin of the plastic bottle at the coast in South Africa and Norway (https://www.ntnu.edu/web/marine1/sano-cohort3-projects).

Enahoro at NTNU for the 2023 SANO plastic waste conference in Trondheim, Norway

Enahoro and other participants at the SANO 2023 concluding conference in Trondheim, Norway.

In October, Enahoro flew to Accra Ghana to participate in the SETAC Africa 11th Biennial Conference which held from 8-11 October 2023 with the theme: “Environmental data-driven policies for innovation and sustainable development”. At the conference, Enahoro shared some vital research findings on microplastics pollution in river systems with the broader environmental management community. It was a unique opportunity to update his knowledge on cutting edge developments regarding the broad area of Environmental Toxicology and to get in contact with other people from academia, industry and the government involved in environmental research and policies.

Enahoro and other conference participants at the 60th SETAC-Africa Biennial Conference, Accra Ghana.

In November, Enahoro attended the Publishing African Impact-Related Research on Sustainability (PAIRS) Conference. The programme, jointly organised by the Responsible and Sustainable Business Centre of the Nottingham Trent University, UK and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, marked the commencement of a two-year early career mentorship forum aimed at building the research capacity of early career sustainability researchers (ECSRs) in South Africa. It was yet another opportunity for Enahoro to interact and share perspectives with researchers from outside the natural sciences. Enahoro also gained valuable insights on grant proposals writing, the importance of cross-sectoral collaborations and many more.

Enahoro also actively participated in other conferences, workshops, trainings, and community engagement activities throughout the year. It has been an awesome journey of dedication and commitment to doing research, training, innovation, knowledge gathering and knowledge production for the wider society. Indeed, Enahoro is grateful to AWaRMN which has received funding from the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme of the European Union, for this awesome opportunity.

Enahoro at the PAIRS conference with another participant engaging in a relaxing and friendly cooking competition.

Last Modified: Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:10:06 SAST