The 7th ENVRI week took place in Riga, Latvia, from 5 to 9 November 2018. ENVRI, the European Environmental Research Infrastructures community, brought together in the Horizon 2020 ENVRIplus project, deliver valuable resources for environmental scientists. ENVRIplus gathers all domains of Earth system science (atmospheric, marine, biosphere and solid Earth) to capitalize on the progress made in various disciplines and strengthen data exchange across domains.
At the 7th ENVRI week EuroGOOS shared the ocean observing community best practices and progress, among others towards building a framework for an integrated and fit-for-purpose European Ocean Observing System, EOOS. Glenn Nolan and Dina Eparkhina of the EuroGOOS office, updated the meeting on the policy, strategy and communications activities in the marine domain, represented through the EuroGOOS family of the regional systems (ROOS), task teams and working groups. These activities are set in the context of the international developments and strategies, like the UN Ocean Decade and the G7 initiatives, for example.
The ENVRI community had a fruitful discussion on the next steps building on the achievements of the successful ENVRIplus project. Glenn Nolan participated in the ENVRI Board of Environmental Research Infrastructures workshop brainstorming on the pathway to meet user needs sustainably.
The ENVRI week also had a special focus on environmental literacy for young generation, with the ENVRI science challenge game awards presented to four European schools. The ENVRI science games for secondary schools were designed within the ENVRIplus project and had been able to attract dozens of schools. The winning schools were invited to come to Riga to present their projects to the ENVRI community, and teachers explained the added value of this competition for their lessons.
