(NEWS) WMU Participates in World Maritime Day 2013

September

2013

WMU Participates in World Maritime Day 2013

The main event of the 36th celebration of World Maritime Day was held at IMO Headquarters in London on 26 September. This year’s theme was: "Sustainable Development: IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20," and included a one-day symposium. The theme was chosen in order to focus IMO’s efforts during 2013 on carrying out the commitments made at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, better known as Rio+20, held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In his World Maritime Day message, IMO Secretary-General and WMU Chancellor, Koji Sekimizu, stated that maritime transport was central to sustainable development, as the world's only global, reliable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient mass transportation method for energy, materials, foods and industrial products.

“The maritime transportation system itself must, therefore, ensure that its development is also sustainable,” Mr. Sekimizu noted this extends beyond the operation of ships to encompass all the activities that are vital to support shipping, such as the operation of maritime traffic management systems and global communication systems, ports, and multi-modal connections are all components of this multi-faceted sector.

“Shipbuilding and classification, ship registry and administration, ship finance, ship repairing, ship recycling, the education and training of seafarers, are all part of the system – as, indeed, are search and rescue services, maritime security agencies, coast guards and maritime law enforcement agencies and many others, too. They all have a part to play in defining and achieving a sustainable Maritime Transportation System,” Mr. Sekimizu said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also issued a message for World Maritime Day, in which he noted that this year’s World Maritime Day fell at an important time, as the United Nations was leading the final stretch of its global campaign to address human suffering through the Millennium Development Goals while shaping a vision for the post-2015 period.

“In this effort, we value maritime transport as a cost-effective and energy-efficient link in the global supply chain. Let us use this occasion to reaffirm our commitment to optimize the management of maritime transport to support sustainable development,” Mr. Ban said.

In conjunction with the World Maritime Day celebrations, the special one-day symposium on a Concept of a Sustainable Maritime Transportation System was arranged to provide Member States, industry, and other stakeholders an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the theme of this year’s World Maritime Day. The concept and symposium aimed to provide an overview of the maritime transportation system’s contribution to the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development.

WMU President, Dr. Björn Kjerfve, addressed the symposium with the presentation Expanding and Sustaining Maritime Education and Research. In his remarks, he emphasized excellence as the pre-condition for both survival and sustainability of a University. He stated, “Sustainability...depends on having a level of consistent excellence in education and research. When excellence exists and is locally and globally recognized, sustainability follows.”

Further, Dr. Kjerfve highlighted that sustainability is dependent on the integral connection between research and teaching in that research influences teaching, and teaching supports and directs research. He maintained that the keys to WMU’s sustainability include excellence in the quality of faculty and programs, successfully combining teaching and research, and establishing a framework for innovative ideas to reach the market as well as establishing an endowment fund.

World Maritime Day was first held in 1978 to mark the 20th anniversary of the IMO Convention’s entry into force. Celebrations are held throughout the world to focus attention on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment, and to emphasize a particular aspect of IMO's work. The exact date of World Maritime Day celebrations is left to individual Governments but is usually celebrated during the last week in September. The official IMO celebrations are held at IMO Headquarters in London, and since 2005 have been followed by a Parallel Event hosted by a Member State. This year’s Parallel Event was held in Lima, Peru, from 2 to 3 October 2013.

Celebrations in Sweden for World Maritime Day took place in Gothenburg, on 26 September. The event was hosted by Maritime Forum, a non-profit association of corporate and institutional members from across the Swedish maritime cluster. Swedish Infrastructure Minister, Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, opened the event and spoke about the challenges of sustainable development. WMU Assistant Professor, Dr. Lisa Froholdt, made a presentation on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility – a Deﬁnition in a Maritime Context and a Toolbox for Shipping to Enhance the Concept.

For 2014, IMO Council has endorsed a proposal by Secretary-General Sekimizu to adopt “IMO Conventions: Effective Implementation” as the World Maritime Day theme. Mr. Sekimizu noted IMO has built a strong reputation for developing and adopting new international conventions with 53 in total addressing safety, environmental issues, liability and compensation, and other topics. Yet he expressed particular concern at the slow pace and implementation of several of the environmental conventions adopted by IMO.

In 2014, the World Maritime Day Parallel Event will be held in Morocco, and in 2015, in Japan.

Downloads

The full text of the IMO Secretary-General’s World Maritime Day message can be downloaded here.

The IMO Secretary-General’s World Maritime Day video message can be viewed here.

The World Maritime Day message of the United Nations Secretary-General can be downloaded here.

A concept of a Sustainable Maritime Transportation System can be downloaded here.

Text of the WMU President's World Maritime Day address can be downloaded here.

Text of WMU President's World Maritime Day at the Parallel Event in Lima, Peru can be downloaded here.

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