St Helena Conference 2020 – From Discovery to Discovery

12 November 2020

St Helena Community College, Jamestown, St Helena

09.00-15.30 GMT

The one-day conference ‘From Discovery to Discovery’ brings Island based organisations and researchers together to share and exchange knowledge and experience, showcasing the diversity of research being conducted on land and sea.

The event marks the first year of operation of the St Helena Research Institute and seeks to celebrate the wide range of studies being undertaken and to highlight the benefits that research is bringing to society and our environment.

The speakers programme includes a behind the scenes look at historical research; an investigation into the genomes of Jonathan the Giant Tortoise, the oldest known living land animal, and the Island’s honey bee; new discoveries of endemic invertebrates, bone sharks, tropic birds and in shore marine habitat mapping: trials and tribulations of agriculture on the Island, new studies developing control methods for alien invasive invertebrates and vertebrates, tourism marketing, health promotion and teenage well-being.  The event will conclude with an open discussion centred on the question “What is the role of Science, Research & Innovation?”

The conference is open to everyone on St Helena to attend in person and presentations will be made available for the local radio and online. Information about the conference programme and speakers are available on the St Helena Conference website: https://st-helena-conference.com/

This is the third consecutive year St Helena has hosted the St Helena Conference. The first conference ‘Diverse Island Environments: A multi-disciplinary view of islands’ was held in 2018, made possible with the opening of the St Helena Airport. It was the first of its kind international environmental conference to be held on St Helena, welcoming international delegates. It was sponsored by Georgia Aquarium, South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) and Enterprise St Helena. Following on from its success, the second conference in 2019, titled ‘Nature’s Benefits: Natural Capital in the South Atlantic’ brought together participants from St Helena and across all UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) in the South Atlantic region and further afield to consolidate the final outputs of the Natural Capital Assessment Project that SAERI had implemented. The UK Government funded project, supported by experts and scientists in the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), enabled partnerships to be built with the UKOT governments across the region in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension and St Helena, and a number of other on and off-Island organisations. In 2020, the conference takes a closer look to home, providing a platform for local organisations and researchers to showcase the incredible range of studies and activities being conducted on land and sea to better understand our environment, our history, society and behaviours to support sustainable futures. The Island is currently Covid-19 free and is in the very fortunate position of being able to host a physical event like this.

The conference is being organised by the St Helena Research Institute (SHRI) and St Helena Tourism, hosted by the St Helena Community College and supported by Enterprise St Helena, SAERI, Saint Helena National Trust, St Helena Government’s Education & Employment Directorate, Environmental Management Division and Children & Adults Social Care Directorate.

For further information contact: rebecca.cairns-wicks@sainthelena.gov.sh or Juliet.Williams@tourism.co.sh.

St Helena Government Communications Hub

Telephone: 22470
Email: kimberley.peters@sainthelena.gov.sh