World Maritime Day 2015 – Maritime Education and Training
Since 1978, World Maritime Day celebrations have been 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 2015 theme, Maritime Education and Training, was adopted to focus attention on the wider spectrum of maritime education and training, in particular its adequacy and quality, as the bedrock of a safe and secure shipping industry, which needs to preserve the quality, practical skills and competence of qualified human resources in order to ensure its sustainability.
Events throughout the year have reflected the 2015 World Maritime Day theme. On 19-20 May, WMU hosted the International Maritime & Oceans Education & Training Symposium that brought together 175 participants from around the globe and a distinguished list of speakers that included leading maritime educators and professionals. Themes for three sessions guided discussions throughout the two-day symposium and included: Educating Tomorrow’s Maritime and Ocean Leaders; Sustainable MET – History, Contemporary Issues and Future Scenarios; and Contemporary Maritime Issues. The focus of the symposium often turned to the need to expand MET issues to include ocean governance and management, and the critical role MET must play in the sustainability of the maritime industry as well as the global oceans.
Since 2005, in addition to the official IMO celebrations held at IMO Headquarters in London, there has been a Parallel Event hosted by a Member State. This year’s Parallel Event took place in Japan 20-21 July and WMU was represented by President Doumbia-Henry who delivered remarks on behalf of WMU.
Celebrations at IMO Headquarters included a programme on 22 September for elementary school children from local and international schools based in London. The pupils enjoyed an interactive session where they learned about ships, the cargoes they carry, regulations for ships and the range of maritime careers as well as try ship simulators loaned by ARI World. On 23 September, high school students from local and international schools based in London attended an open morning at IMO. They learned about opportunities in the maritime sector, from officer cadet training, maritime law and marine biology, through to transport logistics. The students heard a variety of speakers, tried out ship simulators, and were able to speak with people working in the maritime field, including current students and cadets, on maritime training and careers.
The 2015 diplomatic reception at IMO Headquarters was held on 24 September. In his remarks, IMO Secretary-General, Mr. Koji Sekimizu, who also serves as Chancellor of WMU, stated “Without a quality labour force, motivated, trained and skilled to the appropriate international standards, shipping cannot thrive.” Mr. Sekimizu also highlighted the need for greater efforts to be made to bring new generations into seafaring as a profession, noting that seafaring must be seen to appeal to new generations as a rewarding and fulfilling career. “The world depends on a safe, secure and efficient shipping industry; and the shipping industry depends on an adequate supply of seafarers to operate the ships that carry the essential cargoes we all rely on,” Mr. Sekimizu said.
In Sweden, World Maritime Day (known as Världssjöfartens Dag) celebrations took place on 24 September in Gothenburg. WMU President, Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry delivered the opening 2015 IMO speech at the event. Earlier in the week President Doumbia-Henry was in Trinidad and Tobago to deliver a speech at the national World Maritime Day celebrations on 22 September.
President Doumbia-Henry noted the importance of World Maritime Day which encourages people to reflect on maritime history and the contribution the maritime sector makes to the global economy. Further Dr. Doumbia-Henry emphasized the importance of IMO Conventions and the role the maritime industry has to play in contributing to the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals that are expected to be adopted by Heads of States and Governments this week at the UN General Assembly. The President noted that “For MET to develop to meet the needs of the future, it must aspire to excellence. Far more is required than simply teaching the obvious technical skills required for ship operation. It requires lecturers, professors and managers with decision-making skills, professionalism, human relations skills, ethics, and environmental awareness. The greater the degree to which our education and training captures these other elements, the more our present and future seafarers will be optimally situated for a life-long career, whether at sea or on shore. “
President Doumbia-Henry noted that on 31 December 2016 the Manila amendments to the STCW Convention will come into force, and that all actors in the maritime industry have a role to play in meeting the deadline "not with mere compliance, but excellence. To do this, we need to reach a common understanding of the meaning of MET, and of its scope well beyond seafarer qualifications and competence. At all times, we need to be aware of the context of the associated administrative and management systems that support quality as well as the broad and changing demands of the maritime world.”
World Maritime Day was first held in 1978 to mark the 20th anniversary of the IMO Convention’s entry into force. The 1978 STCW Convention and Code, as amended, set the international benchmark for the training and education of seafarers. While compliance with its standards is essential for serving on board ships, the skills and competence of seafarers, and indeed, the human element ashore, can only be adequately underpinned, updated and maintained through effective maritime education and training.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) identified a shortage of well-qualified, highly educated maritime experts, particularly in lesser developed nations. To address this gap, the IMO endeavored to found an institution to support Member States with the high-level education necessary to implement international Conventions. In determining the institution’s location, then IMO Secretary-General Dr. C.P. Srivastava, approached the Swedish Ministry of Transport who welcomed the idea and Malmö was determined as the home of the institution. With the financial support of the Swedish government, the City of Malmö, and private donations, the World Maritime University (WMU) was inaugurated on 4 July 1983.
Today, WMU continues to serve IMO and its mission. As IMO’s centre of excellence for postgraduate maritime education, WMU’s mission is closely tied to that of IMO and is “to serve the global maritime community through education, research, and capacity building to ensure safe, secure, and efficient shipping on clean oceans.” More than 90 per cent of global trade is served by shipping and WMU’s over 4,000 graduates from 165 countries are a significant influence in today’s maritime sector.
The importance of WMU in the global sector was noted by IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu at the November 2014 WMU graduation ceremony, "The benefits of the education provided by WMU are not limited to the students or the countries they come from, but extend to those whose livelihood or business depends on international seaborne trade."
WMU’s sister organization, the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), was founded in 1988 to provide developing countries with a reasonable cadre of national legal personnel who are available to oversee the implementation of existing law, to review and evaluate the provisions and arrangements for their implementation, to advise on the need for new or revised laws and regulations and, as necessary, to prepare suitable texts for consideration and adoption by the relevant legislative bodies.
WMU and IMLI are featured in IMO Secretary-General, Mr Koji Sekimizu's, 2015 World Maritime Day video message.
