The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the University of the West Indies Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (UWI-CERMES) will jointly sponsor a ‘Writeshop ‘for young Caribbean scholars working in various aspects of climate change, climate variability and adaptation.  The Writeshop will be held at the Solutions Centre, Cave Hill Campus, UWI, from February 27 - March 2, 2012.

The Writeshop will involve one-on-one work with academic mentors, who will provide guidance and supplemental training on academic writing skills and presentation, in order to help new authors reach a standard of writing suitable for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Acquisition of such skills will allow their work to be eligible for incorporation into publications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other high level scientific bodies, and consequently inform policy making on key issues relating to climate change risks. Such bodies are only permitted to draw on the highest quality peer-reviewed climate change-related publications, and there is still a dearth of such products from Caribbean researchers. The initiative is therefore intended to begin the process of filling this gap.

The fourteen participating researchers were selected from among 20 applicants on a competitive basis, and were required to meet certain eligibility criteria including minimum agreed academic qualifications, current involvement in research in relevant disciplines, quality of paper abstract and draft outline of paper, a rationale for wishing to participate, and a written commitment to complete the assignment. Research themes will focus on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation with respect to natural systems, including coastal, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as critical sectors such as water resources, agriculture and food security, human health, settlement and infrastructure.

Each participant will be paired with a mentor who will have the responsibility of constructively evaluating and critiquing the researcher’s draft paper, and setting out a roadmap for its completion to the required standards. It is expected that by the end of the Writeshop, papers would have been advanced to the stage where they could be considered for submission to peer-reviewed journals with a few additional weeks of mentoring. All mentors have committed to ensuring that the mentoring process with these young researchers continues well beyond the end of the Writeshop.   

The coordinators of the Writeshop are Dr. Leonard Nurse, UWI-CERMES, Cave Hill and Dr. Lisa Schipper, Stockholm Environmental Institute. Other mentors are Prof. John Agard, UWI St. Augustine, Dr. Michael Taylor, UWI Mona and Drs. Adrian Cashman and John Charlery, UWI, Cave Hill.