4th GLOBE Regional Conference Doha, Qatar, 6-10 March, 2005

"Learn and Share"

The 4th GLOBE Regional Conference on weather and climate was held March 6-10, 2005, in Doha, Qatar. More than 100 teachers, students, and GLOBE coordinators from Bahrain, Lebanon, and Qatar attended the five-day conference, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Education with support from the Supreme Council for the Environment & Natural Resources, the GLOBE Program in the United States, the United States Embassy in Qatar, and RasGas, a major producer of liquified natural gas and related products in Qatar. Dr. Rebecca Boger, GLOBE's International Project Scientist and International/U.S. Partnerships Deputy Director, and Dr. David Brooks, Research Professor in Drexel University's Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics and GLOBE Principal Investigator for Aerosols, Water Vapor, and UV-B radiation, directed training in GLOBE's phenology and atmosphere protocols.

The Qatar Conference follows by less than three months a "train the trainers" workshop held in neighboring Bahrain during December 2004. Dr. Boger and Dr. Brooks, plus teachers and coordinators from Lebanon also attended the Bahrain workshop. The GLOBE program helps participating countries build a strong infrastructure for environmental science and education. The purpose of these recent activities is to help countries in the Middle East that already have active GLOBE programs to develop a regional approach that encourages cooperation among governments, scientists, teachers, and students.

The images below show Dr. Brooks working with some of the conference participants, including conference organizer and assistant GLOBE Master Trainer for Atmosphere Protocols Abdul Aziz (top left photo), from Qatar's Ministry of Education. In accordance with the custom in Qatar, boys and girls worked in separate groups.