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Talk to SAEON
What some of SAEON's stakeholders had to say about the Summit
To a successful Summit. Dr Gerhard Von
Gruenewaldt, former Deputy President of the NRF, and Johan Pauw propose
a toast to SAEON at the cocktail function that preceded the Summit.
(Picture © Mitzi du Plessis)
Thanks for the invitation. I enjoyed the Summit, learned a whole
bunch of new things, and had a reasonable amount of fun to boot. What
more could one ask for. From an outside perspective things look very
exciting and dynamic indeed. Congratulations both on the Summit and on
achieving so much with SAEON.
Prof Steven Chown, Director - DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for
Invasion Biology, University of Stellenbosch
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Congratulations on the great and a hugely successful Summit. I
personally learned a lot of new directions in Environmental Observation
which have re-invigorated my almost dormant research aspirations.
Wandile Nomquphu, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
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From my side well done on the SAEON Summit - I found it to be a very
good and diverse gathering of environmental scientists in SA. The
presentations were good and disciplined and the workshop discussions
extremely valuable. As a member of the SAEON Steering Committee I come
away with a strong feeling that SAEON is now part of the equation and a
new force in the NSI.
Prof Paul Skelton, Managing Director: South African Institute for
Aquatic Biodiversity, National Research Foundation
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I found the overview given by the speakers in the Plenary Sessions
very interesting and informative. I am also pleased to report that we
cover all these important aspects of environmental awareness and issues
of sustainability in our Delta Environmental Centre teaching. So some
of your future scientists from the humblest of backgrounds may have had
their interests in science stimulated by our simple efforts!
I made a point of interacting with as many of the young people at the
Summit as I could. They were all very in awe of and inspired by being
in the company of the upper echelons in their scientific disciplines.
The presenters were legends who published papers, and now they had the
opportunity to interact with them all at once.
The students also felt that the opportunity to develop and present
their posters and have them reviewed by such specialists was a huge
honour. There was obviously great educational value in terms of
conceptualising their work in poster format and in analysing and
comparing their work with other students.
It was good to hear about the level of commitment and enthusiasm of
some of the more isolated students. The gathering gave them a valuable
chance to benchmark their efforts.
From my perspective in the sidelines, may I congratulate you all on a
very worthwhile event!
Helen Williamson, Delta Environmental Education Centre
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Baie dankie vir al die moeite wat julle met die Summit gedoen het.
Ek dink almal het dit baie goed georganiseerd en leersaam gevind.
(Thank you for all the effort that went into the Summit. I think
everyone found it very well organised and informative.)
Prof Kobus Pienaar, Dean of Science, North-West University
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