The Association for Women in the Maritime Sector in Eastern and Southern Africa region (WOMESA) celebrated the IMO International Day for Women in Maritime in the margins of its tenth annual conference and workshop in Kisumu County, Kenya held from 25-27 May. The event reported by the IMO media service in the last week of May concerned Women in Maritime: Opportunities and Milestones Achieved and took stock of WOMESA’s activities since its establishment by IMO in 2007.

Mentorship and targeted programmes

This conference provided the opportunity for 70 delegates from 16 member countries of the association in Eastern and Southern Africa, cutting across the ports and shipping sectors, to examine the challenges and opportunities available to women in the region in maritime, including at leadership levels. Participants emphasised the need for mentorship and targeted programmes to encourage the younger generations to take up maritime professions.

UN Office Nairobi

Mr Xiaojie Zhang, Director Technical Cooperation Division took the opportunity to pay courtesy visits to Mr James Macharia, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Transport, as host government of IMO Regional Presence Office, and Mrs. Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON).

Under IMO’s auspices, eight Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAs) have been established in Africa, Arab States, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific, covering some 152 countries and dependent territories and some 500 participants.

Access to these regional maritime associations for women provides members with a platform to discuss a number of issues, not just about gender, but also technical issues. These associations go some way to bridging the gap in narrowing some of the institutional barriers facing women who enter the maritime industry.

To read more readers are invited to see here:

https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/TechnicalCooperation/Pages/WomenInMaritime.aspx

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