WMU WORKSHOP HELD ON EMPOWERING WOMEN FOR THE UN DECADE OF OCEAN SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Identifying Institutional Opportunities and Challenges for Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
Date: 28-30 September 2020
Co-sponsored and coordinated by: World Maritime University-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute; Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Government of Canada; and The Nippon Foundation
Draft Programme and Panel Details here
Workshop Background: On 5 December 2017, the United Nations proclaimed a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, to be held from 2021 to 2030. This Decade will provide a common framework to ensure that ocean science can fully support countries’ actions to sustainably manage the Oceans and more particularly to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Recognising the need to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls in marine science, the World Maritime University established the research programme on Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, supported by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in 2019.
The programme has two main strands, to explore the role of gender equality and empowerment of women in the conduct of ocean science, and the role of gender equality in the regulatory and ocean science governance systems that coordinate, manage and mediate ocean science. The research findings will contribute to a proposed Strategy and Action Plan to help deliver equal opportunities for full participation and leadership by women at all levels of ocean science and science-dependent governance systems.
The Workshop engaged with major international organizations to survey the status of gender equality in the ocean science sector. The main aim of the Workshop was to identify the challenges and opportunities to achieve gender equality and empowering women and girls at all levels.
The main topics of the Workshop were as follows:
- Establish strategies for collecting accurate gender data within ocean science
- Identify meaningful and effective best practices for promoting full participation and leadership by women at all levels
- Develop methodologies for engagement with key international organizations
Day 2 – All Participants 
Day 3 – Group Picture