Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef Symposium 2023

11-12 SEPTEMBER | CRYSTALBROOK RILEY HOTEL, CAIRNS ESPLANADE

REGISTRATIONS - OPENING SOON VIA EVENTBRITE

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - OPEN

The Great Barrier Reef is a natural system of profound social, cultural, economic and ecological importance for both the Australian and International community. The relationships between people and the Reef are complex and diverse, sometimes resulting in competing and contested values. As communities grow and human interests multiply, maintaining and cultivating the values of the Reef becomes more challenging. This is particularly the case as the planet warms.

The Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef is delighted to invite you to the 2023 symposium: Reef values: ecologies, communities and connections. This symposium will bring together a community of researchers, practitioners and policymakers to explore the diverse values, ecologies, and communities of the Reef. It provides a platform for participants to share knowledge, research findings, cutting edge methodologies and engage in critical and creative thinking about the social dimensions of Reef conservation, management, and sustainable development.

Symposium and Workshop information coming soon.

Please read the Submission Rules prior to submitting an abstract below. 

Call for abstracts - submit here

We invite the submission of abstracts for symposium presentations.

If you would like to present at the symposium, please submit an abstract (200-250 words) here and become part of the collective effort to understand, engage and foster Reef communities and protect and conserve precious reef ecosystems.

Abstracts must be submitted by 5pm on 31 May 2023 - EXTENDED TO 8 JUNE 2023

Presentations will be approximately 10 minutes long (duration to be advised). In person presentations are preferred but online presentations are possible.

Presentations can draw on social scientific research, community projects, the application of social science in policy, projects or other issues relevant to the Symposium theme. Potential presentations might address:

• Understanding and managing the multiple and contested values of the Great Barrier Reef
• Enhancing the social, economic, and cultural well-being of Reef communities
• Understanding the risks and benefits of Reef management and policy
• Novel approaches to collaboration, co-design and participation
• Creative research methodologies
• Any other ideas that relate to the Symposium theme

About the Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef

The Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef is a collaboration between the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Office of the Great Barrier Reef (Department of Environment and Science, Queensland), James Cook University, The Cairns Institute, Queensland University of Technology, and University of Queensland. The group brings together social science practitioners and academics working in the Great Barrier Reef Region. The purpose of the group is to collaborate, share knowledge and provide a platform for improving understanding of social science for the Reef, both research and applied.

You can become part of this community through our LinkedIn page here.