On 08 March, the World Maritime University (WMU) – Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, in collaboration with the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), hosted an interactive session celebrating International Women’s Day.
The event titled “Delivering Transformative Changes to Achieve Gender Equality” provided participants with updates about the work of the WMU-DFO Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme and the IHO Empowering Women in Hydrography. Both Programmes have been generously supported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and both have been endorsed as Ocean Decade Actions by IOC-UNESCO.
The event was opened by Professor Ronan Long, Director of WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute. Ms Sarah Jones-Couture, IHO Public Relations & Communication Officer, started the session with an overview of the activities of the Empowering Women in Hydrography projectand discussed how people could respond to different perceptions of gender balance issues. This was followed by WMU’s graduate, Dr. Renis Auma Ojwala, who presented her research findings regarding barriers and opportunities to achieve gender equality in ocean research institutions in Kenya. Closing the first session was PhD Candidate and Research Assistant Ms Ellen Johannesen, who discussed the importance of quantitative research and advocacy in promoting gender equality in international organisations with an ocean mandate.
An interactive session followed, with input from participants who reflected on past efforts to promote gender equality, the importance of educating boys and men regarding gender issues, and suggested concrete actions, such as scholarships for women, transparent recruitment processes, better parental leave and childcare, that can lead to a more inclusive and equitable society for all genders. The discussions emphasized the importance of education, fostering a more inclusive environment for all and was summarized by one participant as “this is an issue that affects everybody, but minorities more”. Mr Luigi Sinapi, Director of the IHO, delivered closing remarks for the event.
The event included over 200 registered participants from more than 57 countries. To learn more about future engagement activities with the Empowering Women Forum, please follow the links below:
- Join the Stakeholder Consultative Forum, via link here: https://forms.gle/3xCNqUrWVGV5SDYX8
- Join our Empowering Women Forum Decade Network page, by registering here: https://forum.oceandecade.org/topics/35873/home
About the DFO-WMU Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme
The purpose of the Empowering Women Programme is to advance an alternative, inclusive model for the sustainable governance of ocean spaces and maritime activities that duly takes into account the need to ensure effective gender equality and the empowerment of women at all levels in order to ensure the sustainable management of the global ocean. The Programme is endorsed by IOC-UNESCO as a Decade Action and will play a central role in supporting the Ocean Decade mission to catalyze transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development. The Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Programme is generously funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) with additional support from The Nippon Foundation.
About the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute
The vision of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute is to act as an independent focal point for the ocean science-policy-law-industry-society interface where policy makers, the scientific community, regulators, industry actors, academics, and representatives of civil society meet to discuss how best to manage and use ocean spaces and their resources in accordance with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Institute was inaugurated in May 2018 and made possible through generous support from The Nippon Foundation of Japan, the Governments of Sweden, Canada, and Germany, as well as the City of Malmö.