ABOUT

What is More than Maps?

The More than Maps public engagement initiative aims to share replicable and open-access skills in mapping and social science analysis to empower students and young professionals in research supporting climate change adaptation.

Our team has developed in-person and online workshop series focusing on various environmental issues, including climate change and disaster risk, for different target audiences. All our workshops are free of charge and aim to increase research skills and knowledge about current environmental topics amongst the participants. 

More than Maps was originally established as an outreach initiative of the SARTRAC research group (more information below), aiming to engage young people with research on Sargassum seaweed which has been washing up on beaches across the Caribbean and West Africa in large quantities since 2011, affecting fisheries, tourism and other sectors.

Recently, More than Maps has become part of the British Council’s COP26 Seasons Programme (more information below), leading to the expansion of our team and allowing us to offer new workshop series.

 

As part of COP26 Seasons, we will combine the skills and expertise available across our partner institutions to: 

  1. Engage secondary school students to learn basic spatial analysis and social science skills to support their understanding of climate change adaptation on the coast, across the UK, Australia, Ghana and Jamaica.
  2. Provide knowledge and practical exposure to the scientific background to climate change adaptation on the coast, to support secondary school students’ confidence and ability to participate in policy discourse.
  3. Develop ECR skills across the UK, Australia, Ghana and Jamaica in public engagement competence to deliver specialist content from their field to diverse international audiences.
  4. Increase the capacity of ECR partners in the co-development of a research project.
  5. Facilitate new relationships between the UK, Australian, Ghana and Jamaica institutions in climate change research in the coastal context, leading to future research and public engagement collaboration.

What is SARTRAC?

SARTRAC = Teleconnected SARgassum risks across the Atlantic: building capacity for TRansformational Adaptation in the Caribbean and West Africa

The SARTRAC research consortium (University of Southampton, University of York, University of Ghana and University of the West Indies) aims to identify new transformational opportunities that build resilience equitably, for the poorest people affected by mass algal blooms of sargassum seaweed in the tropical Atlantic basin. Specifically, the team works on identifying drivers of sargassum landings, developing monitoring approaches that are transferable across regions within the basin, and identifying adaptation opportunities and challenges generated through the management and re-use of the invasive Sargassum seaweed.

What is COP26 Seasons?

The British Council hosts festivals and seasons around the world, creating highly visible cultural platforms for cultural exchange. Seasons are core to the British Council’s work, creating friendly knowledge and understanding between people in the UK and other countries. Seasons make a positive contribution to the UK and the countries with which the British Council works, changing lives by creating opportunities, changing perceptions, building connections and trust. They are developed with a wide range of cultural and funding partners and coordinated with government stakeholders overseas and in the UK.

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021. The climate talks will bring together Heads of State, climate experts and campaigners to agree coordinated action to tackle climate change. As COP26 Presidency, the UK is committed to working with all countries and connecting with civil societies, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire action ahead of COP26.

Season for Change works with artists and university partners on creatively engaging with the life-changing impact of the climate breakdown in communities across the UK, building up to the UN’s climate negotiations in November 2021.

More than Maps is supported by the British Council and the Australian Government as part of the UK/Australia Season.