On behalf of the organisers of the Symposium, WIOMSA, the University of Mauritius and the Nairobi Convention, I am pleased to invite you to the 11^th WIOMSA Scientific Symposium that will be held from July 1^st to 6^th 2019 at the University of Mauritius, in Réduit, Mauritius.

The WIOMSA Symposium, the largest open scientific conference in the region on marine and coastal issues, is a biennial event that has established itself as an intellectual and knowledge marketplace that offers a unique regionwide platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, capacity building, strategic action and cooperation. WIOMSA uses the symposium as a platform to showcase innovative solutions for addressing the challenges facing coastal communities, policy makers, management authorities and the private sector in the Western Indian Ocean. It is expected that this year’s symposium, whose theme is “People, Coasts and Oceans: Opportunities for a changing future”, will bring together 400-500 leading researchers, academics, scientists, policy makers, practitioners and students to present the latest research findings in all aspects of coastal and marine science.

We have made some modifications to the traditional symposium structure in order to improve the quality of science, outputs and overall experience of the WIOMSA Symposium. In addition to our regular scientific programme consisting of keynote presentations, oral presentations and specially convened sessions and round table discussions, I am delighted to announce the introduction of ‘Mini-Symposia’ sessions which will be scheduled on Monday 1st to Thursday 4th July from 16h00 to 17h40.

The purpose of the mini symposia is to allow the convening groups to present and discuss issues of regional importance with the intention of coming up with syntheses on the current status of knowledge, furthering research and policy recommendations, and/or introduce novel perspectives and approaches. The expected outputs from the mini symposia include publications such as manuscripts, policy briefs and position papers from the presentations in the sessions. We have also adapted the structure of the Symposium programme to allow the poster session to run from 14h00 to 16h00 from Monday to Thursday. This will ensure that the poster presenters have ample time to present their work within specific thematic sessions.

The 11th WIOMSA Symposium offers a comprehensive programme featuring various advances in coastal and ocean science and governance, institutional and regional efforts to attain the sustainable development goals, as well as presenting new approaches, innovative technologies, and best practices that may be helpful in addressing some of the persistent and emerging challenges in the WIO region.

We are particularly excited to have Mauritius, hosting the 11th Symposium. It is good to be back in the islands after a ten-year break! The last symposium in the island states was the 6th WIOMSA Scientific Symposium in Reunion in 2009.

See you in Mauritius!

Dr Jacqueline Uku
WIOMSA President