Marine Ecologist, Lecturer and Academic Coordinator at the Centre for Marine Sciences (CMS) Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory and Field Station, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Dr Dayne Buddo, is one of six experts who will participate in the Sophia Symposium: Charting Island Sustainability Interactive Dialogue with Experts form the Caribbean, Micronesia and Japan, which will take place July 20, 2017 in Japan. The symposium will be followed by a 2-day Field site visit to Shimoda, Izu Peninsula.
The symposium aims to be an open dialogue among diverse experts from Island States in Micronesia, Japan and the Caribbean as part of an initiative to collectively work together to realize island sustainability for all. It will be hosted by the Sophia Institute for the Study of the Global Environment Association for Promotion of Global Cooperation (APIC).
Dr Buddo’s participation in the symposium is being supported by Sophia University, APIC and the CMS. It follows on the 2015 signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between The UWI and Sofia University, aimed at enhancing bilateral relationships that will enhance research and education at both institutions, while expanding the spectrum of academic collaboration and cultural awareness between the universities.
 
Grounded within the context of long-standing relations between Japan and the countries within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), along with the Government of Japan’s commitment to further strengthening its relations with CARICOM, the agreement outlines several areas for academic, scientific and educational cooperation. In addition to the exchange of faculty, scholars and students at all levels, the MOU commits to developing and implementing joint research programmes in areas such as sustainable development, climate change, marine biodiversity and the blue economy, and the application of technology to drive economic development. "