70
April
2020

WMU
Graduation
Ceremony
2019

Maia Brindley Nilsson
Communications andConferences Officer
World Maritime University

On Sunday, November 3, the maritime
leaders of tomorrow from over 70 countries
graduated from the World Maritime University.
The graduates have received the education
required to contribute to the implementation of
the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals (UN SDGs) in their home countries aswell as within the broader maritime and oceancommunity. They are equipped to become themaritime and ocean leaders of tomorrow thatwill promote safe, secure, environmentallysound, efficient and sustainable shipping on
clean oceans.
The graduating Class of 2019 includes 250
graduates from 79 countries, with roughly a third
being women. The Class is composed of 131
MSc graduates from the Malmö headquarters
and 42 graduates from the China programme,
making a total number of 173 MSc graduates;
three PhD graduates; and 74 graduates fromthe distance learning programmes, including 19
LLM graduates. The 2019 graduation ceremonybrings the total number of WMU graduates to5,167 from 170 countries.
WMU President, Dr. Cleopatra DoumbiaHenry, delivered welcoming remarks. In
addressing the graduates, President DoumbiaHenry encouraged them to take advantage ofthe WMU alumni network, joining or activating
national alumni groups to foster the powerof the global WMU network. Further, sheemphasized the important role the graduates
will play in achieving the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals when returning
to their home countries. “You are now experts inperhaps the most important areas for the futureof mankind. You are all aware of the importanceof the issues surrounding climate change, and of
the pressing need for us all to become carbonneutral in a rapidly decreasing time-frame...
You are the citizens of this globalised world. Its
future is in your hands,” she said.
Mr. Kitack Lim, the first International
Maritime Organization (IMO) SecretaryGeneral and WMU Chancellor to hold a MSc
degree from WMU, conferred the degrees on
the graduates. In his remarks, he thanked theCity of Malmö and the Government of Sweden
for their continued generosity and support
in hosting the University, as well as the many
donors for their ongoing commitment to the
WMU mission and its sustainability.

Mr. Lim reflected on his own experience,
having graduated with a WMU MSc degree in
1991, highlighting the profound impact it had on
his life in terms of gaining lifelong friendships aswell as a global professional network. He noted
the responsibility the graduates now have as they
return to their home countries, saying, “I urge every
one of you to assume ownership and shoulder yourpart of the responsibility of moving the world
forward in a sustainable manner and leaving no
one behind. You are now in the enviable position of
having the knowledge and the power to turn ideas
into reality. This will improve our lives, benefit ourcountries, our regions, and our planet.”
The Guest of Honour was Ms. Sadan
Kaptanoglu, President of BIMCO. She encouraged
the graduates to go beyond the knowledge theygained at WMU, and push their imaginations tosolve the global challenges we are facing today.
“We need smart, well-educated experts and leaders,to help us imagine and implement the changes
needed to address these challenges and – in time
– to lead the industry towards zero emission,” shesaid.

Representing WMU’s host city, theChairperson of the Malmö City Council andMayor of Malmö, Ms. Carina Nilsson, noted
the honor of hosting the University, as it makes
a unique contribution to the local community as
well as globally, educating maritime and ocean
leaders. She highlighted that the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals are a guiding
light for the City of Malmö, as well as WMU and
its alumni. “You now have the latest knowledge
and the world as your field of work. You are thefuture leaders within the maritime field,” she said.
Mr. Natig Hasanov, President of the Student
Council and a Sasakawa Fellow, also addressed
the gathering and to his classmates, in particular,
he said, “Today might be the last day for someof us as students, but as of tomorrow we havenew missions. We must fulfill the visions of theInternational Maritime Organization, the World
Maritime University and the international
maritime community regarding enhancing
maritime safety and security, as well as developing
sustainable shipping on cleaner oceans.”
Awards made during the ceremony included:
Dr. Stephen Cross was awarded Honorary
Professor in recognition of his service to WMU
as a Professor, Adjunct Professor and Visiting
Professor since 1988, and his service to theInternational Maritime Lecturers’ Association.
Mr. Kent Andersson was awarded Honorary
Fellow in recognition of his distinguished service
to WMU as Deputy Mayor from 1998 to 2010
and then as Mayor of Malmö from 2010 until his
retirement last year, as well as his long service as amember of the WMU Board of Governors, andhis generous and sustained support of the growthand development of the University.
Mr. Peter Hinchliffe, OBE, was awarded
Honorary Fellow in recognition of his
distinguished service to the maritime world
within the International Chamber of Shipping
and the International Shipping Federation from2001 to 2018, as well as his service as a memberof the WMU Board of Governors from 2012 to2018 and his pivotal role in the development of anumber of international conventions.

Ms. Nancy Karigithu was awarded Honorary
Fellow in recognition of her distinguished service
to the maritime world, as Director-General of
the Kenya Maritime Authority, as a Chairpersonof IMO’s Technical Cooperation Committee,
as a member of the WMU Board of Governors
since 2010 and as a champion of the Association
for Women in the Maritime Sector in Easternand Western Africa.
Ms. Claudia Grant was awarded Outstanding
Alumna in recognition of her distinguishedservice as Deputy Director-General of the
Maritime Authority of Jamaica, as Chairpersonof the Sub-Committee on Implementation of
IMO instruments (III), and as President of the
Women in Maritime Association Caribbean.
Ms. Grand received her Master of Science degreefrom WMU in 1991.
Dr. Kofi Mbiah was awarded Outstanding
Alumnus in recognition of his distinguishedservice as Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana
Shippers’ Authority for two decades, as Chairmanof the IMO Legal Committee and as a Visiting
Professor at WMU. Dr Mbiah received his PhD
degree from WMU in 2011.
Regarding the annual student awards, theChancellor’s Medal for Academic Excellence for
the MSc in Maritime Affairs 2019 in Malmö
was awarded to Ms. Carol Jaimy Schroeder from
Namibia, for the Dalian MSc Programme to
Ms. Li Yan from China, and for the Shanghai
MSc Programme to Ms. Li Manxi from China.
The C P Srivastava Award for International

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Fellowship was awarded to Mr. Luis MiguelColmenares Hernández from Venezuela. Ms.
Yvette de Klerk from South Africa received
the Secretary-General’s Prize for the best
dissertation. Mr. Nishank Sharma from India
received the Schlüter Foundation Dissertation
Prize for an outstanding dissertation in thefield of Shipping and Marine Environmental
Protection. Mr. Mohammad Samsul Mannanfrom Bangladesh received the Lloyd’s Maritime
Academy Dissertation Prize. Mr. Gerardo
Daniele Miscuzzi from Italy received the Lloyd’s
Maritime Academy Distance Learning Prize.
Mr. Shi Quiang from China Hong Kong SAR
received the Richard Charvet Scholarship for the
Postgraduate Diploma in law. And Mr. Duncan
Cuthill from the United Kingdom received theRichard Charvet Scholarship for the Master of
Laws.
Earlier in the week, the Kalmar Prizes,
awarded by Kalmar Global to students who arerecognized as leaders among their peers, were
presented in a ceremony at WMU. Recipientsof the award included: Ms. Enas Al-Mahariq(Sasakawa Fellow - Jordan), Mr. YuthanaAutsadee (Thailand), Ms. Chan Foong Mun(Singapore), Mr. Luis Miguel Colmenares(Venezuela), Ms. Yvette de Klerk (South Africa),
Mr. Roland Ijabiyi (Sasakawa Fellow - Nigeria),
Mr. Reynaldo Rojas Trillos (Sasakawa Fellow Colombia), Mr. Usman Shuaibu (Nigeria), Mr.
Vu Ba Huy (Vietnam), and Ms. Thema Ward
(Sasakawa Fellow - St. Kitts and Nevis).

A Remarkable Day: The Awards Ceremony for Sasakawa Fellows
Enas Nadi Hamed AL-MAHARIQ(Jordan, 2019)

On Saturday, November 2, 2019, in frontof hundreds of our friends, families, World
Maritime University faculty and staff members,
30 students of the Class of 2019 were honored
for their achievements during the academic year
at the award ceremony for WMU Sasakawa
Fellows. This great ceremony was held at
the Sasakawa Auditorium and followed by areception at the World Bistro.

The award ceremony was organized by
the “Friends of WMU, Japan Secretariat” incooperation with The Nippon Foundation.
Mr. Takeshi Mizunari, as the Master ofCeremonies, started everything off, as students’hearts beat fast, filled with happiness, waiting
to receive their certificates and hand in their
Master’s thesis.
Welcoming remarks were made by Mr.
Eiji Sakai, Vice President of the Ocean Policy
Research Institute (OPRI), Sasakawa Peace
Foundation. Known as one of the most eminent
experts in this field worldwide, he highlighted
the great relationship maintained over theyears between WMU and the Foundation.
He advised Sasakawa Fellows to contribute
further when returning to their home positions,hoping that they would continue sharing
knowledge and experience through the
Sasakawa Fellows’ alumni network. In addition,
he hoped the Fellows would make an effort toenhance cooperation within the international
community.
The Fellows were honored to have Dr.
Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President of
WMU, as a perfect example of a woman leader,a hard worker in the maritime field, the headof an organization with the insight to build
and strengthen relationships with donors andsupporters. Dr. Doumbia-Henry talked about
the WMU mission statement, with the aimof creating global leaders in the marine andocean field, building capacity in education andresearch to serve the maritime community, inorder to ensure safety and security, marine
protection and efficient shipping on the oceans.
Dr. Doumbia-Henry spoke eloquently
about the creativity and the sense of pride
that the students had. She was glad of thepartnership between WMU, the Sasakawa
Peace Foundation and the Fellows, hoping that
the Fellows would contribute to their network
as graduates of WMU, an edifice which offers
the wonderful opportunity to nurture and growinto professional individuals.
The next honorable guest was Mr. Mitsuyuki
Unno, Executive Director of The Nippon
Foundation, who praised the efforts made by
Dr. Doumbia-Henry, WMU staff and faculty
for their generous support of WMU students,
offering them such good quality education.
After his speech, Mr. Unno then awarded
the certificates! As their names were read out
and “congratulations” was spoken in each
person’s language, the graduates were filledwith joy. In return, they handed their Master’s
thesis to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. The
audience was also highly impressed with thisgraduation ceremony.

Next, Mr. Tangeni Haimbala, representing
29 Fellows of the Class of 2019 belonging todifferent organizations located in 28 countries,
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introduced their Resolution adopted on September
20, which defines two goals: contributing to one’s
own country, and contributing to the International
Maritime Organization.
Finally, the Master of Ceremonies, Mr.
Mizunari invited Sasakawa Fellows, honorable
guests, WMU staff and faculty to the buffetdinner at the World Bistro. Mr. Faisal Jadoon
from Pakistan made the welcome toast for the
Sasakawa Fellows, expressing their gratitude forthis great moment.

Mr. Santiago Geymonat from Argentina
mentioned that WMU Sasakawa Fellows arelike a family, even though they have different
cultures and different languages. This family wasinvaluable to their lives, as they studied hard every
day, helping and encouraging each other. In his
emotional remarks on behalf of the Class of 2019,
Mr. Geymonat also expressed the students’ feelings
concerning their memorable visit to Japan, all the
happy and beautiful moments, the generosity,
hospitality, and the fruitful academic visits that the
Sasakawa Peace Foundation provided.
It was a wonderful ceremony and party withbeautiful moments and a warm atmosphere,
surrounded by guests and audience... and it willremain engraved in our minds.

Charting the Course for the Future of Maritime Universities
Yusuke Mori

(Japan, 2014)
Deputy Executive Directorof IAMU

TheInternational
Associationof
Maritime Universities (IAMU) held the 20thcommemorative Annual General Assembly(AGA) in October 2019 in Tokyo under thetheme “Charting the course of future of maritime
universities – Environmental, Technological,
Economical, Social, Policy impact”.
The IAMU was founded in 1999 by 7
maritime universities, academies and colleges
from 5 countries with a share and recognitionof the significance of maritime educationand training during the rapid globalization ofinternational shipping, with generous support
from The Nippon Foundation. The aim of the
IAMU is to be the global leader in maritime
capacity building through networking andexcellence in MET, and its mission is five-fold
and global in nature: Building a network ofmember institutions; providing opportunities
for MET system development; supporting
effective MET systems for passing on maritime
know-how; publishing members’ research andscholarly works; and functioning as a liaison
with other maritime associations and United
Nations agencies. Since 1999, the IAMU hassignificantly expanded its membership to 65 of
the world’s leading maritime universities andfaculties, with The Nippon Foundation as apermanent special member, binging the total to
66 members.
The administrative structure of the IAMU
consists of an AGA, an International Executive
Board (IEB), Standing Committees and theSecretariat. The AGA provides a unique forum
for multilateral discussion of maritime issues
by member universities, comprising all member
universities. The AGA, the president’s forum,
plenary session and IAMU Conference are
jointly organized by a member university. At
the AGA plenary session, the Chair and the
Executive Director, on behalf of the IEB, reportto the member universities on the decisionsof the IEB. The IAMU Conference as a partof AGA brings together academicians andresearchers of member universities to discuss
recent progress and future trends in maritime
education and training within the scope of the
IAMU. The IEB is responsible for directing
and supervising the Association and is theprimary decision-making body. Members of the
IEB are the official representatives of member
universities nominated by regional members andthe Policy and Planning Committee. In the IEB,
the following standing committees fulfill their
responsibilities to administer and manage the
IAMU: Policy and Planning Committee (PPC);
Academic Affairs Committee (AAC); Liaison

Committee (LC); and Financial Committee(FC).
The IAMU promotes the international
maritime community network and contributes
to the enhancement of effective academic
studies, developments, and practical applications
associated with Maritime Education andTraining through several activities.
Currently, five working groups - Institutional
database, Peer-Assisted Evaluation Scheme,
Research Project System, Academic Publication,
and Comprehensive study on quality of
onboard training - have actively undertaken
comprehensive activities with international teammembers under supervision of the standing
committees.
In 2007, the IAMU’s Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO) in consultative status
was officially approved by IMO in November
2007 at its 25th Assembly meeting in London.
As an NGO, the IAMU contributes its viewson various IMO agenda items as an academicorganization in meetings.
The IAMU research project system has been
implemented to promote progress in capacity
building at member universities all over theworld through autonomous international
coordination of member universities since 2010,
and the IAMU organizational development
project has also been implemented since 2016
in order to provide a mechanism to build andstrengthen the IAMU as an organization, and as
a result, to strengthen beneficial outcomes for its
member universities.
A recent achievement of the IAMU is theofficial publication of Body of Knowledge (BoK)– Global Maritime Professional (GMP) in 2019as one of the outcomes of the GMP initiative.
The GMP initiative is intended to meet theenvisaged needs of industry and a rapid evolving
educational and career context while catering
for the professional development aspirations ofindividual seafarers. The BoK is the publicationof a number of related learning outcomes needed
to be GMP. It is the aim of the IAMU that,through BoK, students graduating from acrossthe membership of the Association will exhibit
the learning outcomes of the GMP.
In Oct. 2019, celebrating its 20th anniversary,
the IAMU held the 20th Commemorative
AGA in Tokyo. The Assembly began with an
opening speech delivered by Dr. Yohei Sasakawa,
Chairman of The Nippon Foundation. Dr.
Sasakawa first congratulated the IAMU on

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the 20th Anniversary of its establishment andappreciated the dedicated work by member
universities and also the Secretariat. He also
appreciated the official publication of the “BoK- GMP” and emphasized the importance of
embodying the BoK – GMP as a guide for the
curriculum development of member universities.
He concluded by proposing to establish two new
fellowship programmes: one, a fellowship forundergraduate students and two, a fellowship foryoung academic staff. Both programmes will aim tosupport future GMPs. These two new NF-IAMU
fellowship programmes will be further developedby the IEB and will be made available to IAMU
member universities for application in the Fall of
2020. Following Dr. Sasakawa’s speech, opening
remarks and keynote speeches were delivered bydedicated speakers from different societies, such as
representatives from IMO, shipping companies andInternational Maritime Associations. The opening
ceremony was followed by a panel discussion on
the theme: “Is there a future for seafarers withthe coming of MASS?”, where MET’s role in
the future was discussed among 6 specialists fromvarious maritime societies. On the second day, atthe plenary session, member universities approved
the “Tokyo statement”, which contains important
actions to be taken by the IAMU over the next
20 years. On Friday, the IAMU Conference washeld and 30 oral presentations and 39 poster
presentations were delivered under the themes:
environmental, technological, economical, socialand policy impact. Each session was chaired by 6
professors nominated from member universities.
The 20th Commemorative Annual General
Assembly was attended by more than 180
attendees, including presidents, rectors, academic
staff, and students of member universities, wasconcluded with great success and networking, andmost importantly approved the Tokyo Statement,
which includes new fellowship programmes toensure the success of the IAMU’s activities for the
next 20 years.
The exploration of the IAMU goes on.

Challenging Life of a Representative to IMO
Ms. Sonia B. Malaluan(Philippines, 1998)
Maritime Attache - London

The career opportunity I had been waiting
for finally came when I was appointed Maritime
Attache of the Philippines in London, United
Kingdom. I assumed office on December 18, 2018.
As Maritime Attache, my primary responsibilities
include, among others, representation in meetings
at the International Maritime Organization(IMO) and other conventions, meetings &conferences, and providing advisory and technicalassistance activities to the Head of Mission onmatters relating to flag administration, seafarers
administration and shipyard regulations. Twenty
years after my graduation from the World
Maritime University, I am now putting into
application all my learning and knowledge from
WMU. Though most of the subjects needed
updating, the basic knowledge on how IMO
works, and what the instruments/conventions
are all about, serve as a strong foundation to theeffective performance of my functions.

With the Philippine delegation to the IMO 31st Assembly

The complex subject matters on SubCommittee and Committee Agendas and themere volume of documents for each meeting
have been overwhelmingly huge to deal withand comprehend. It brought back memories
of student days at WMU, where we had toread volumes of books to no end, preparing fordiscussions, homework and even examinations.
Now it’s almost the same, except that in IMO
meetings, any statement uttered may affect thecountry’s maritime industry, while as a student,
repercussion was purely personal. However,the best part of working and interacting withrepresentatives from IMO member states is
the shared vision to ensure safe, secured andWorld Maritime University (WMU) and International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) alumni with IMO SecGen and WMU President at Assembly31 in London.

environmentally sound international regulations
and standards.
My work in London, and in IMO inparticular, has been made easy by the network
of WMU alumni who are working either in the
IMO Secretariat or permanent representatives of
their respective governments to IMO or even as
delegates to various sub-committee or committee
meetings in IMO or in any international
conference. I am forever grateful to the Sasakawa
Foundation for my WMU experience and thecontinuing experiences with other Sasakawa
Fellows, regardless of whether they are WMUor IMLI graduates and regardless of their yearof graduation. It has created an invisible bondamong Sasakawa Fellows wherever we are.
I’ve been extra happy every time I have had
the opportunity to meet and collaborate withany of the Fellows. It makes the discussions or
negotiations easier and effective, as we always
have many things in common regardless of ournationalities. I am truly proud to be a WMU
alumni and to actually show and apply the goals
for which WMU was created. I believe that any
cooperation I may achieve with alumni fromother member states is truly more precious thangold.

Dr. Yohei Sasakawa is Conferred a Doctor of Humanities Degree
Mr. Jose Romualdo
Quismundo DENZON(Philippines, 2011)

It was a hectic afternoon, August 20, 2019,
when I opened my email and learnt that mybenefactor, Dr. Yohei Sasakawa, would bevisiting Manila, the Philippines, three weeks
later on September 10. Dr. Sasakawa was to be
conferred a degree in Doctor of Humanities,
Honoris Causa, at the Ateneo de Manila
University. While the commendation cameas no surprise, considering the numerous
accomplishments that he has achieved, thenews of his coming was unexpected. Nine years
had passed since I last met him, and therefore
I had no desire to waste this rare opportunity
to see him again. The occasion was not only achance for me to meet a great person and leader,but more so, to personally thank him for the
WMU scholarship that he had accorded me.
During the luncheon meeting prior to theconferment, I was amazed to see that there wereother Sasakawa Fellows of diverse programs in
attendance. I came to realize that Dr. Sasakawa’s
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advocacy was not only championing the cause of
the lepers and poverty alleviation, it was likewise
accentuated on the importance of young people.
Truly, Dr. Sasakawa, while you quietly worked,
your achievements spoke out loud for you.
Congratulations, Sir, you deserve it!

The Mission of the Hellenic Coast Guard and its Contribution in
Tackling the Migration Crisis
Eleni KELMALI(Greece, 2018)
Hellenic Coast Guard

Migrant and refugee flows towards Europe
have dramatically increased over the last
few years. Managing the unexpected wavesof people aiming to reach the European
Union (EU), either in an attempt to escapelife-threatening conditions and wars or inorder to raise their standard of living, posesa major challenge to European countries. Of
all irregular migratory routes, the Eastern
Mediterranean faces the main migratory
pressure, as it registered 74126 illegal bordercrossings in 2019, mostly at the sea borders
between Greece and Turkey. In times of such
unprecedented refugee and migration crisis,
the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) has madestrenuous efforts to achieve effective bordermanagement and save human lives at sea.
The HCG was established in 1919 and iscurrently staffed with approximately 7500
officers. It constitutes a law enforcement
agency, militarily organised in ranks,
responsible for the implementation of themandate of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs
and Insular Policy. Its primary mission is tosupport the Greek shipping industry, and its
main responsibilities extend over the fields ofshipping policy, maritime safety and security,
search and rescue at sea, the protection of themarine environment, border management,
fishing control, and the fight against organised
crime. The HCG forms a structural part of
the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular
Policy, whose headquarters are located in
Piraeus, Greece.
High-ranking HCG officers represent
Greece in international organisations related
to the maritime sector, such as IMO, EMSA
and EFCA. Participation in international
fora and cooperation with national andinternational institutions provides the HCG
with the prestige, knowledge and technicalknow-how to respond to the contemporary

Hellenic Coast Guard http://www.hcg.gr/

Hellenic Coast Guard http://www.hcg.gr/

challenges of the shipping industry, promote
the resolution of important issues and best
serve the interests of Greek shipping.
For the purpose of accomplishing its
mission, the HCG is equipped with aircraft,
and a fleet of different types of vessels,
including Offshore Patrol Vessels, Coastal
Patrol Vessels and lifeboats, patrol cars andmotorcycles as well as surveillance equipment.
The HCG plays a multidimensional rolein the management of migratory and refugee
flows around the Greek state. HCG patrolboats safeguard Greek territorial waters while
HCG surveillance equipment contributes toeffective border management, with a view todismantling migrant-smuggling networks.
In many cases, the lives of innocent people
who try to reach the EU via sea routes are inserious risk, due to rough weather conditions
and unseaworthy and overcrowded boats used
for transportation. This is when the HCG sets
as a primary purpose to save human lives atsea. Thousands of search and rescue operations
have been conducted by HCG patrol boats
in recent years, often under extreme weather
conditions. The professionalism and experienceof the crews play a crucial role in the successful
outcome of these operations.
Since the HCG is a national organisation
in a European state, maritime operations arecarefully planned in accordance with national
and international law, as well as European
Regulations. In the context of joint operations
coordinated by Frontex, the European Borderand Coast Guard Agency that acts as theguardian and the driving force behind theintegrated management of Europe’s borders,the HCG cooperates with operational meansand officers of other European countries,
6

which offer significant support to the Greek
Authorities as regards border control. In theoperational field, HCG officers’ top priority is
to guarantee the protection of human rights. In
cases of illegal border crossing, officers have toensure that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
are treated in line with relevant international
Conventions.
Lesvos island, located in Northeastern Greece
and close to the Turkish coast, is the mosttargeted destination in terms of illegal bordercrossings. A significant number of Greek andother European operational means (patrol boats,surveillance equipment) has been deployed
for the purpose of achieving effective bordermanagement at the sea border between Greece
and Turkey. Since migrant-smuggling networks
are very active in this area, migrants and refugees
are detected at the sea border almost on a daily
basis, and facilitators are often arrested during
the operations.
Nowadays, the challenges for the HCG
are more demanding than ever. Apart fromconducting border management operations, theorganisation works towards setting up legislative
and technical solutions, which will allow the
Greek maritime administration to fully adapt
to developments in the maritime field. The
contribution of the HCG in search and rescue
cases, the protection of the marine environment
and the support of the Greek shipping sector
is highly appreciated by society and maritime
industry. Being a member of the HCG for thelast 8 years, I have witnessed many incidents
which demonstrate the effectiveness anddedication of my colleagues to their mission and,thus, feel proud to be a part of this well-respectedorganisation.

A Milestone Achieved
Carolyn Annmarie
Elizabeth Graham(Jamaica, 2008)

February 5, this year marked a very
important milestone for me when I successfully
defended my thesis at Cardiff University,
titled: Developing Labour Standards for
Representation on Ships. Having completed
my MSc at WMU in maritime education andtraining in 2008, I knew I wanted to continue
doing work that might contribute to improving
the lives of seafarers. My thesis focuses on

the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, andits provisions for seafarers to select safety
representatives to speak for their interests inhealth and safety management on ships. The
MLC is important as it focuses on labour
standards and represents what has been termed
as the “fourth pillar” in the global regulatory
regime for safe, secure and environmentally clean
shipping. Despite efforts by the international
maritime community, seafarers continue to bearexcessive work risks when compared with landbased industries. A lot of work has been doneat the Seafarers International Research Centre,

where I was based, where so far 30 students
have gained PhDs, generously sponsored by
The Nippon Foundation. However, more needs
to be done as new risks emerge even before oldones are fully solved. I hope to continue work
based on my thesis, as important gaps havebeen identified in ensuring these global labour
standards are effectively applied. I would like tothank The Nippon Foundation for funding my
PhD.
The thesis can be downloaded at: http://orca.cf.ac.uk/122484/

Contributing to the Progress of Gender Equality in the Maritime
Transport Sector
Ms. Ore OVIA TOUA
MSc, BoM, PGD in ME
Maritime Training Adviser
Oceans and Maritime Programme - Geoscience, Energy& Maritime (GEM) Division
Pacific Community
SPC - Private Mail Bag - Suva,Fiji

One of the key findings is that most PacificIsland Countries and Territories (PICTs)
have specific, overarching national genderequality policies, but the human and financial
resources dedicated to their implementation
are usually insufficient. There is a need totranslate commitments made through genderpolicies into national development and sectoral
strategies, where gender issues are usually either
not mentioned, or are featured in a separate
sector rather than mainstreamed throughout all
development goals and strategies.
The need to advance women’s role in themaritime transport sector (the sector) has
turned out to be a subject of great interest
since the relaunch of the regional network
association, the Pacific Women in Maritime
Association (PacWIMA) in April 2016 in
Tonga, supported by SPC and the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Second
Regional Conference for Pacific Women in
Maritime held in Papua New Guinea in April
2018.
The sector is still considered unsuitablefor women because of the perception that it
promotes promiscuity, and it is not safe forwomen to work in. There are also expectations
from society about a woman’s place being athome, caring for her family, and therefore ajob that requires being on board ships, away
at sea for long periods of time, is consideredunsuitable and inappropriate.
The main obstacles to women’s fullparticipation in the maritime sector are: alack of commitment to create an inclusive
workplace; the absence of a code of conduct andguidelines for respectful working relationships

and protection of people’s physical integrity; alack of ships adapted to host women workers;
and resistance to change.
Social norms may be a major impediment
to women working in the sector. However, agrowing number of educated women want topursue a different path, and see the sector as
an opportunity for travel and many interesting
employment options. The sector is also at thedawn of another revolution, exploring lowcarbon technologies and moving towards acarbon-free industry.
Increasing interest by women, and greaternumbers of women working in the Pacificmaritime sector, has led to national chapters
being established and operationalised in the
Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu
and Vanuatu. These national chapters play a keyrole in contributing to the vision for the region
and furthering the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) and their targets.
An instrumental contribution of the nationaland regional network supported by SPC was thedevelopment of the GLOBAL FIRST Regional
Strategy for Pacific Women in Maritime 20202024, officially launched at the 4th PacificRegional Energy and Transport Ministers
Meeting in September 2019 in Apia, Samoa.
Arising from GLOBAL FIRST, there is now
a greater opportunity to strengthen the positive
momentum to further leverage some partnerships
and increase visibility of some of the successstories of women in the maritime transport
sector. There are calls for more coordinatedcollaboration, strengthening existing alliancesand forging new partnerships to achieve moresustainable approaches. The national maritime
administration is recognised and acknowledged
for its continued support and passion in making
inroads possible towards women-held careers inthe sector, and shows a truly unique commitment
from Pacific communities.
While there is an active network of Pacific7

Captain Susan Balekana, Fiji Womenin Maritime Association

Women in Maritime and many international andregional partners supporting gender equality in the
Pacific, there is a need to increase understanding of
the specific issues facing Pacific women in maritime,
success stories and opportunities for women inmaritime, and leverage innovative partnerships andfunding to support national and regional networks
and the Regional Strategy implementation.
Data collected and analysed by SPC have shown
an increase in the number of women employed in
the Pacific maritime sector from 1061 in 2017 to1855 in 2019, out of an estimate of 16,000 people
employed in the maritime sector (SPC, January2016). However, details behind these figures,
success stories and issues are not yet known, in order
to better understand the situation and meaningfully
implement the Regional Strategy action plan.
Thus, under SPC’s gender and social inclusion
efforts, we are embarking on a project to focus on 2
countries and ascertain the data collected by SPC,
investigate individuals employed in the maritime
sectors, highlight success stories and capacity
needs and organise a donor-country roundtable toshowcase the project results and agree on specificstrategic actions in the medium term.
The project will engage with the PacWIMA
executive team, the Presidents of national chapters,
the focal points from the gender desk in countries
under the UN WOMEN, and SDP countries’ lead
person and government officials.
At the end of the project, the objective is to havechanged perceptions and issues of potential partners
and facilitate conversations to support and fund theimplementation of the Regional Strategy.

Nippon Foundation Chairman is Named as a Person of Cultural Merit

According to the government’s announcement on
Tuesday, October 29, 2019, Nippon Foundation Chairman
Yohei Sasakawa has been officially named as a Person ofCultural Merit by the Japanese government.
Chairman Sasakawa was recognized for using his
experience as a director over many years in supporting
various public interest projects, in the capacity ofpresident and chairman of The Nippon Foundation, tomake significant contributions to efforts to solve various
problems by applying his forward-looking ideas and ability

to take action in social and cultural contribution projects
beyond the reach of government, as well as social issues
in international society that governments find difficult todeal with.
In particular, Chairman Sasakawa was recognized forhis commitment to eradicating discrimination against
persons affected by leprosy (also known as Hansen’sdisease), and his efforts in Myanmar to resolve hostilities
in regions where the government and militant ethnic
minorities are in conflict.

Recent News From the Office

We would like to inform all the Fellows that we are going to change the design of our fellows’ webpage, namely “The Friends of WMU, Japan website”.
At this moment we will shift to draft new design webpage temporary. In order to access your directory, please follow this instruction: (Same procedurefor using laptop or desktop PC)(1)
Press “menu” button on
top-left corner(triple-dash icon)(2)
Menu shown. Press“Sasakawa Fellows Only”(3)
You can find and press“Directory”(4)
Then press “Link to
Sasakawa Fellows’ Directory”

As always, please keep your mailing address up in order to distribute this newsletter.
Please also let your colleague fellows know about this update if they do not know.

Introducing Our New Secretariat Staff Member:
Harumi Ishijima
Education/Outreach Div.
The Ocean Policy Research Institute
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Hello, everyone. I joined OPRI in November 2019,
and I am happy to be involved in the WMU-Sasakawa
Fellowship Programme.
At OPRI, I am working for the outreach of OPRI
activities, as well as the Fellowship programme. Currently
I am working on “White Paper on the Oceans and Ocean
Policy 2020”. It compiles Japanese ocean activities in
2019, concerning a wide range of ocean matters, so please

As the new coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread unchecked
across the world, I imagine that many of you share the same feeling ofapprehension as I do as you go about your studies and work.
This virus is having a significant impact not only on the cruise shipindustry but also on the shipping industry. To reinforce preventive efforts
against the spread of the coronavirus and ensure the smooth flow of people
and goods, I believe now is a good time for our Fellows to exchange
constructive opinions across national borders.
Page 8 of this newsletter features news and activities of our Fellows,

take a look when it comes out this summer (English
version will be available on our website).
My career started as a book editor. Later, I began
focusing on international cooperation and developed mycareer at several organizations, such as the G8 Summit
Secretariat, Cabinet Office (disaster management), andUnited Nations University (sustainability/SDGs). I havejust started learning about ocean issues after joining
OPRI, but I am already excited to be involved in this field.
At home, I am a mother of two daughters. I know
every working mother on earth has the same situation juggling work and life every day!
I am very much looking forward to seeing you all inperson at WMU or in Japan.

including celebrations and condolences, transfers, and exchanges. I invite
all of you to enliven this page by filling it with happy tidings from your own
life and the world around you.
At this time, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Sadaharu Koga,
Class of 2015, as well as Mr. Koki Matsushima, Class of 2016, for theircontribution to our newsletter as an editorial committee member for the
past two years.
Eisuke Kudo (Advisor, SPF)