GeoLog

Union-wide events at the 2012 General Assembly

At the 2012 General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union there are a variety of Union-wide sessions, summarised below.

Maria Theresien Platz, Vienna (source: Wikimedia)

Union Meetings (UM)

These meetings are open to Union members, though note some are invitation-only events. Of particular importance is the UM8: Plenary in Room D on Monday 23 April from 12:15 to 13:15. This is an annual event, open to all EGU members and all General Assembly 2012 participants, held to discuss the past and future developments of EGU. The whole EGU Council is in attendance. A free lunch buffet (sandwiches & soft drinks) will be served.

Union Symposia (US)

Union Symposia cover a range of topics and also include the US1: EGU Award Ceremony in Room D, on Tuesday, 24 Apr from 17:30 to 20:00. Details on Awards and Medals of the European Geosciences Union can be found on the EGU homepage.

Great Debate

There are two Great Debates this year, entitled Open Science and the Future of Publishing (Room 20, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 from 13:30-15:00) and The Role and Responsibilities of Geoscientists for Warning and Mitigation of Natural Disasters (Room 15, Thursday, 26 April 2012 from 12:15-13:15).

Medal and Keynote Lectures

There are 32 Medal Lectures and three Keynote Lectures during the General Assembly.

Short Courses

There are nine Short Courses at the General Assembly.

Townhall Meetings (TM)

Townhall Meetings cover a variety of topics, including educationpolicy, and funding opportunities. These sessions aim to offer more discussion time than the normal oral presentations allow.

Splinter Meetings (SPM)

Like Townhalls, Splinter Meetings are organised by participants. However, they are typically smaller and can be either public or by invitation only.

Other

Europe in Geosciences sessions have a pan-Europe outlook and this year feature topics such as climate reconstruction, sea dynamics, and flood resilienceEducational and Outreach Symposia (EOS) are sessions dedicated to education and outreach, including to the Geosciences Information for Teachers (GIFT), a long-running event for high-school teachers. The EOS8 session, Communicate your Science, also merits highlighting. It is aimed at teaching scientists how to best communicate their research to journalists and the general public.

Finally, now in its third year, GeoCinema (full schedule available online) features a nearly continuous schedule of relevant film content, including documentaries and full length features.

Bárbara Ferreira was the Media and Communications Manager of the European Geosciences Union from 2011 to 2019. Bárbara has also worked as a science writer specialising in astrophysics and space sciences, producing articles for the European Space Agency and others on a freelance basis. She has a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*