Guest Post: Thanking AuthorAID for a Wonderful Experience at SCCP 2014

[This post is from Daudi Msangameno (Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), who received an AuthorAID travel grant. Thank you! —Barbara]

This is to appreciate the assistance offered by AuthorAID in facilitating my participation in the Symposium of Contemporary Conservation Practice (SCCP), held 3 to 7 November 2014 in Howick, South Africa. This assistance was in the form of a travel grant that covered my round-trip air ticket, local transport, and incidentals. It was a huge relief to secure such assistance, as I had painfully missed the previous 2 events due to lack of funding.

This annual gathering of scientists and conservationists was an excellent platform for sharing experiences on contemporary conservation issues. It was attended by a diverse group of over 400 participants. I was fascinated by the general organization of the conference and presentations. As a marine scientist, I am used to participating mainly in conferences where marine and coastal issues dominate. However, at SCCP 2014 I had to the opportunity to interact with, hear, and learn from people working on issues related to the science and conservation of not only the coastal and marine environment, but also a wide range of terrestrial habitats.

The conference was extremely eventful, loaded with excellent plenary sessions, workshops, keynote speeches, debates, and even a “movie premiere” on rhino conservation. But most important, I was able to present my paper and received critical but useful inputs. I was also able to interact informally with people with similar research interests and initiate networks for future research collaboration.

Again, I thank AuthorAID for availing me of the opportunity to participate in SCCP 2014.