GLEON 2024 Virtual Meeting

All Hands’ Meeting, 8-12 April 2024

Held in GLEON’s GatherTown online meeting space.

With the success of in-person and virtual meetings in 2021-2023, the GLEON Steering Committee recognized the value of both meeting formats to facilitate the inclusiveness of online meetings and the kinds of interactions at in-person meetings that are key to the network’s collaborative approach to lake science. They made a commitment to continue organizing All Hands’ Meetings, alternating between virtual and in-person meetings every nine months or so. 

The GLEON 2024 Virtual All Hands’ Meeting, 8-12 April 2024 will be held in GLEON’s GatherTown online meeting space following a similar program and weekly schedule for online meeting activities as before (see below for a Program Overview).

For the first time, the GLEON virtual meeting will have a ‘local’ host from an underrepresented region. For GLEON 2024, the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) will serve as local host to help highlight regional research on Lake Tanganyika, the African Great Lakes, and other regional lake research topics.

The hashtag #GLEON2024 will be used for social media.

Please note: The GLEON website is currently under maintenance. Please bookmark this page for up-to-date meeting information.

Program Overview

  • Pre-recorded Workshop with live Q&A during the virtual meeting
  • Working Group and ad hoc meetings
  • Poster Sessions
  • Daily plenary talks or panel discussions 
  • Informal networking and social activities
  • Training on working group facilitation, participation, and project champion role
  • Regional Meetings
  • World Cafe on Barriers to Equity in Global Science

Preliminary Schedule

Registered meeting participants will receive an email before the meeting with connection instructions for the GatherTown meeting platform, a program schedule, and other meeting information. Here is a preliminary schedule of live sessions to help with planning your schedule for the week:

  • Day 1 - Monday, 8 April 2024: 13:00 - 17:00 UTC
  • Day 2 - Tuesday, 9 April 2024: 14:00 - 18:00 UTC
  • Day 3 - Wednesday, 10 April 2024: 12:00 - 16:00 UTC
  • Day 4 - Thursday, 11 April 2024: 10:00 - 14:00 UTC
  • Day 5 - Friday, 12 April 2024: 10:00 - 15:00 UTC (unstructured time for ad hoc meetings)

Regional Gatherings will also be held during the week (see below for more information).

Workshops

The GLEON Student Association (GSA) workshop subcommittee is organizing a pre-recorded workshops for asynchronous viewing. The online videos will be uploaded and available a week before the GLEON 2024 Virtual Meeting. 

  • Hands-on R for Data Exploration and Visualization by Dr. Masumbuko Semba - In today's data-driven world, understanding how to work with information effectively is crucial. This course opens the door to the exciting world of data analysis using R, a powerful and versatile language tailored for statistical computing and graphics. You'll embark on a journey to explore various data types, structures, and manipulation techniques, equipping you to transform raw data into meaningful insights and compelling visualizations. Learn more about the workshop.
  • Science Communication by Rebecca North - This two part workshop will cover science communication and include scientific writing and publishing and tips on how to give an effective conference presentation and prepare a poster.
  • Understanding the real risks of cyanobacterial toxins for humans by Bas Ibelings - In this workshop, Dr. Ibelings will do account of the nearly 10 year-long process and outcomes of the revision of the WHO handbook Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water, which contains the new Guideline values (GV) for a wide range of cyanobacterial toxins. What is the scientific basis for these GV? How do GV differ between hepatotoxic and neurotoxins? What are the uncertainties in the derivation of GV? How does this play a role in their day-to-day application to safeguard the public against risky exposure to cyanotoxins? How do risks between exposure in drinking water, freshwater seafood and recreation compare? Was Toledo – for instance – right in closing the tap water for 10,000s when microcystin was detected in drinking water, connected to blooms of toxic cyanobacteria in Lake Erie, or was continued use of the tap water safe?

There is no fee for the workshops, but those interested in participating should complete a registration form. A workshop Q&A session is tentatively scheduled during the virtual meeting live sessions. If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact the GSA.

Regional Gatherings

The following Regional Gatherings will be held during the week:

  • Regional meeting for Europe, 10 April 2024, 17:00-18:00 UTC
  • Regional meeting for South and Central America, 10 April 2024, 18:00-19:00 UTC
  • Regional meeting for North America, 10 April 2024, 19:00-20:00 UTC
  • Regional meeting for Asia and Oceania, 11 April 2024, 08:00-09:00 UTC
  • Regional meeting for Africa, 11 April 2024, 09:00-10:00 UTC

GLEON 2024 Regional Gathering flyers:

Region Gatherings are free but require registration.

For more information, contact Rafa Marce or Lorena Silva. 

    Plenary Speakers and Panel Discussions

    • Day 1: Challenges and Solutions for Lake Tanganyika - Dr. Prisca Mziray (speaker), Dr. Happiness Anold, Mr. Huruma Mgana and Mr. Peter Limbu (panelists).
      • Dr. Prisca Mziray will talk about challenges and solutions for Lake Tanganyika as an introduction to a panel discussion on the topic. 
    • Day 2: Challenges and Opportunities for African Women in Sciences - Angela Nankabirwa, NaFFIRI/ACARE (speaker).
      • Angela Nankabirwa is an aquatic ecologist with expertise in freshwater ecology. Working with a wide range of collaborators, Nankabirwa develops research that balances human interests with protecting biodiversity. Her work uses detailed field studies on the African Great Lakes to gain general insights and identify patterns in the face of increasing global environmental changes. Her goal is to achieve sustainable use of freshwater resources that maintain the integrity of river and lake ecosystems. Nankabirwa also spearheads the African Women in Science program at the African Center for Aquatic Research and Education Organisation. Through this initiative, she fosters inclusivity and empowers women to actively contribute to advancing research and development in the African Great Lakes region and beyond.
    • Day 3: The Future of Freshwater Research and Management in Africa Panel Discussion - Dr. Robert Kayanda, LVFO-Uganda (speaker); and Dr. Chris Nyamweya, KMFRI-Kenya and Ismael Kimirei, TAFIRI (panelists).
      • Dr. Robert Kayanda, holds a PhD in fisheries acoustics, ecology and management from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and MSc in International Fisheries Management from the University of Tromsoe, Norway. He is currently working with Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) as a Director in charge of Fisheries Resource Monitoring and Research. His areas of expertise are fish stock assessment, ecology and management. He has participated in a number of multi-national acoustic and bottom trawl surveys on both marine and freshwater estimating the biomass of small pelagics and demersal fish species. He has participated in a number of surveys to map fish (including small pelagics) abundance and distribution in Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria. He has published in a number of media such scientific articles, book chapters and technical reports among others.
      • Dr. Chrispine Nyamweya is a highly experienced ecologist with a strong background in ecological modeling, fisheries science, data science, and smart technologies. He currently serves as the Senior Research Scientist and Assistant Director at the prestigious Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). Chrispine has achieved remarkable success during a distinguished 13-year research career.
      • Dr. Ismael Kimirei is Director General of TAFIRI and a long-time GLEON member.
    • Day 4: Education and Research capacity development in the African Great Lakes: Role of East Africa academia, Rashid Tamatamah - Dr. Rashid A. Tamatamah, UDSM, Tanzania.
      • Rashid Tamatamah is a Senior Lecturer in Aquatic Ecology at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and is recognized for his deep expertise in marine and freshwater ecosystems. His academic career is marked by significant contributions to the study of aquatic biodiversity, ecosystem health, and the impacts of human activities on water bodies. During his 20 years teaching career at UDSM he has supervised/advised and graduated 12 MSc and 5 PhD Theses; headed a university training and research department with over 200 faculty, students, and staff for a period of 9 years; and managed 10 research projects as PIand Co-PI. Between 2016 and 2018 he served as the Director General of Tanzania Fisheries ResearchInstitute (TAFIRI) before being appointed to the position of Permanent Secretary of Fisheries in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, a post which he served between July 2018 and February 2023.

    Virtual Meeting Technologies

    GLEON will be using a variety of technologies during the G2024 Virtual Meeting, including GatherTown (for the main meeting platform), Slack (for interactive dialogue), and Zoom (for plenary sessions and regional meetings accessed via GatherTown or Zoom directly).

    The GSA communications subcommittee has set-up a Technical Support (#technical-support) channel in the GLEON Slack workspace to provide information and help answer questions about virtual meeting technologies. They have also prepared "how to" video about using Slack. 

    Beginner's Guide to GLEON

    The GLEON Student Association developed a Beginner's Guide to GLEON to help orient those who are new to the network or attending their first meeting.

    Code of Conduct

    Please refer to the GLEON Meeting Code of Conduct, adopted by the Steering Committee in 2019 and updated in 2024.