Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2
Visit to the Fresco
Escarpment Aspiring Geopark
(C
ô
te d
'
Ivoire)
In 2012, a workshop was organized in Dakar (Senegal) in
parallel with the International Mine Salon (Fig.
4
a
-
d). In
addition, three meetings in Tunisia (Fig.
5
), various meetings
in Morocco (Fig.
6
), a scienti
been celebrated as a time of rebirth. The 20th of March is
generally viewed as corresponding to the time where night
and day are nearly of the same length all over the world.
However, even if this is widely accepted, it isn
c session during the 6th
Conference of the AAWG meeting held in Yaounde (Cam-
eroon), and participation in a scienti
t entirely
true. The March equinox occurs at the moment the sun
crosses the celestial equator from south to north. This hap-
pens either on March 19, 20 or 21 every year. In that way,
the activities, related to the DESAME, can be extended to
19th and 21st March.
The DESAME is supported by the Geological Society of
Africa (GSA
f
), the Society of African Earth Scientists
(SAES), the International Association to Promote Geoethic
(IAPG), the International Association of Geoethics
(IAGETH), the ArabGU, the YES Network, the Research
Group on Geodynamics, Geoeducation and Geoheritage
(EGGPG) of the Faculty of Sciences of El Jadida (Morocco),
G.C.E.E.M (Romania), Azki Geological Museum (Syria)
and many national organizations, institutions, and local
governments, such as the Faculty of Sciences and the
Choua
'
c session on geoheri-
tage and co-organisation of a workshop and a roundtable
during the 24th Colloquium of African Geology held in
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), were further activities.
The second international conference on Geoparks in
Africa and the Middle East is being organized in Dakar
(Senegal) in 2014 under the title
“
Geoheritage in the service
of local sustainable development
”
.
2.6
Day of Earth Sciences in Africa and Middle
East
To achieve their objectives, in 2013 AAWG and AGN
proclaimed the 20th of March as a
“
ï
Day for Earth Sciences
in Africa and the Middle East, DESAME
b Doukkali University (El Jadida, Morocco), the
municipal Council of Ben Guerrir (Morocco), the Center for
Education and Leadership Development (CELDEV) of Kano
(Nigeria), El Manar Tunis University (Tunisia), the National
Agency of Applied Scienti
. This initiative
aims to promote earth sciences for society and to increase the
awareness about the role that earth scientists can play to help
in building a peaceful, healthier and wealthier continent.
The 20th of March was chosen because equinoxes have
long been celebrated in cultures all over the world as a sign
of respect for our planet Earth. In the northern hemisphere
the March equinox marks the start of spring and has long
”
c Research (ANSRA) (Senegal),
the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (Senegal),
Cheikh Anta Diop University (Senegal), Institutul Geologic
al Romaniei (Romania), the Al Hoda Association (Mor-
occo), the Centre for Research and African Documentation
