Partners from within and outside the region are provide with the opportunity to organize special sessions on particular subjects of interest. This is one of the most popular aspects of the Symposium. This year several new initiatives that wish to enhance their presence in the region, have organized special sessions.

All sessions will be held on 5th July 2019 from 11:30 to 18:00.

1. Stories for the Sea – How storytelling can contribute to marine conservation and fisheries management objectives – Blue Ventures
2. Gathering Experiences of Octopus Closures in the WIO: Towards a Synthesis of Actors, Interactions and Outcomes – OctoPINTS
3. Identifying the potential for multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations in ocean modelling initiatives in the SWIO region – SAEON
4. Seagrass Sessions (Seagrass Ecosystem Services; The Indo-Pacific Seagrass Network (IPSN) & Western Indian Ocean Seagrass Network (WIOSN))
5. Promoting MPAs as a tool for management in the WIO Region: Progress towards achieving SDG 14 (Session Programme) – Marine Reserves of Reunion/UNEP/Wildlife Conservation Society
6. WIO Marine Turtle Network (Session Programme) – Sea Sense
7. Expert meeting of WIO Coral Reef Task Force/GCRMN regional network – CORDIO
8. Fostering Regional Engagements through Transdisciplinary Research – SA IORAG/WIO-ECSN
9. Cascading the GEBCO Seabed 2030 project towards a ​Regional Collaboration and Coordination Approach to build a Bathymetric Map for the WIO Region – GEBCO-NF Alumni
10. Conservation and management of sharks and rays in the Western Indian Ocean: National Plans of Action and international conventions (Session Programme) – WCS
11. Digitalization of cultural heritage. New approaches for documentation, preservation, interpretation and community involvement. The case of Palestine, with potential relevance for Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean – Norwegian University of Life Sciences
12. MeerWissen – African-German Partners for Ocean Knowledge: Building capacities for knowledge-based policy making in the WIO Region – GIZ
13. Ocean Acidification-East Africa – East Africa OA- Africa
14. The Western Indian Ocean Early Career Scientist Network: One-Year and a half progress and contribution to marine science in the region (Session Programme) – WIO-ECSN
15. The EAF-Nansen Programme: Research contributions in the Indian Ocean in support of regional and global policy and management processes (Session Programme) –  EAF-Nansen Programme
16. Ocean Governance in the WIO – Nairobi Convention
17. Strengthen the link between science and society: when kids meet the scientific community – Reef Conservation, Mauritius and the Research Institute for Development (IRD)
18. Strengthening Partnerships for the Mangrove Agenda in the WIO Region – Western Indian Ocean Mangrove Network
19. Assessing cumulative environmental impacts for Marine Spatial Planning in the Indian Ocean – Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
20. Presenting two new documentary films on Marine Conservation and People’s Rights in South Africa and Tanzania – Ian Bryceson
21. Addressing fisheries governance challenges in the Western Indian Ocean – South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and shared Growth Program (SWIOFish)