programme 

4 APRIL - DAY ONE


08.00 - 09.00

09.00 - 10.30

Registration

Opening Session

Welcome Remarks

  • Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President, World Maritime University

Keynote Addresses  

Moderator: Dr. Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs, Vice President (Academic Affairs), World Maritime University

  • Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, IMO (video message)
  • Ms. Grete Faremo, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director
  • Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, Nigeria
  • Ms. Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
  • Ms. Alette van Leur, Director of the Sectoral Policies Department, International Labour Organization (ILO) 
  • Dr. Genevieve Béchard, Hydrographer General of Canada

10.30 - 10.45

IMO Gender Programme 

Ms. Helen Buni, Principal Programme Assistant, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships, Office of the Director, Technical
Cooperation Division, International Maritime Organization (IMO)

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10.45 - 11.40

Plenary Session 1: Women in Maritime Leadership
Perspectives and insights from women occupying senior leadership positions in national governments and international organizations

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Moderator: Dr. Maximo Q. Mejia Jr., Professor, World Maritime University
 

  • Ms. Heike Deggim, Director, Maritime Safety Division, IMO 
  • Ms. Magda Kopczynska, DG MOVE, EU
  • Ms. Katarina Norén, Director General, Swedish Maritime Administration
  • Ms. Maphefo Anno – Frempong, CEO, Transport Education Training Authority, South Africa

11.40 - 13.00

Lunch

13.00 - 13.55

Panel A: Women in Shipping

Focuses on the role of women in the shipping industry, the achievements so far and the challenges ahead

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Moderator: Ms. Natalie Shaw, Director, Employment Affairs, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)
 

  • Ms. Jacqueline Smith, Maritime Coordinator, International Transport Federation Workers' Union 
  • Ms. Maja Markovčić Kostelac, Executive Director, European Maritime Safety Agency
  • Ms. Nancy Wakarima Karigithu, State Department for Shipping and Maritime, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development and Public Works 
  • Captain Kate McCue, Celebrity Cruises 

13.55 - 14.50

Panel B: Women in Ports

Highlights the role undertaken by women at various seaports heading Operations, Business analysis, and CSR, among others, in developing a sustainable port and society


Moderator: Ms. Barbara Scheel Agersnap, CEO, Copenhagen Malmö Port
 

  • Ms. Neelima Vyas, CEO, SV Pittie Oman 
  • Ms. Mwanaulu Issa Mwajita, Senior Business Analyst (Project Manager, Maritime Single Window), Kenya Trade Network Agency 
  • Ms. Tessa Major, the Commercial Director of Porto do Açu in Brazil
  • Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority

14.50 - 15.20

Coffee Break / Poster Presentation

15.20 - 16.00

Plenary Session 2: Women's Role in Influencing Ocean Governance

Highlights the work of professional women leading and influencing interdisciplinary ocean action programmes, with a special emphasis on the long-standing and significant role of women in relation to sustainability-focused ocean governance

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Moderator: Professor Ronán Long, Director, WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute of the World Maritime University
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  • Ms. Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, DOALOS (video message)
  • Dr. Anne Christine Brusendorff, General Secretary, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea 
  • Ms. Julie Gascon, Director General of Operation, Canadian Coast Guard

16.00 - 16.35

Panel C: Women in Ocean and Marine Science

Women from varying career levels that are proactively engaged in ocean and marine science activities  discuss the role of equity, gender-balance, and inclusion for greening the blue economy

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Moderator: Ms. Helen Ågren, Swedish Ambassador for the Ocean, Government of Sweden 

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  • Ms. Lisa Emelia Svensson, Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Branch, Un Environment Programme
  • Dr. Irini Papanicolopulu, Associate Professor of International Law, Università di Milano-Bicocca
  • Ms. Linda Wallin, Senior Analyst, International Affairs, Science Affairs Department, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM)

16.35 - 16.45

Launch of Gender-Ocean Project

  • ​Dr. Genevieve Béchard, Hydrographer General of Canada

16.45 - 16.55

Close of Day One

Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President of WMU

17.00 - 18.00

WIMAs and WMUWA Panel

The objective of this panel session is to enable the Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAs) and the WMU Women's Association (WMUWA) to share their experience and discuss an integrated approach to strengthening the global WIMA networks.

18.00 - 19.30

Cocktail Reception


5 APRIL - DAY TWO

09.00 - 10.00






10.00 - 11.00

Plenary Session 3: Enabling SDG 5 Towards Sustainable Maritime Industries

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Moderator:  Ms. Lena Dyring, Director of Cruise Operations, Norwegian Seafarers’ Union
 

  • Ms. Sindisiwe Chikunga, Deputy Minister of Transport, South African Government 
  • Mrs. Birgit Sølling Olsen, Former Deputy Director-General, Danish Maritime Authority
  • Mrs. Margareta Jensen Dickson, Head of People, Stena Line
  • Ms. Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, President, WISTA International


Panel D: Women in Fishing and Seafood Harvesting

Highlights the contribution of women in dealing with fishing and seafood harvesting sector


Moderator:  Dr. Raphael Baumler, Associate Professor, World Maritime University
 

  • Ms. Luz Baz, ITF inspector in Vigo Spain 
  • Ms. Medina Thiam, Deputy Director, Maritime Safety and Marine Pollution Prevention, Senegal; co-founder of LE FEMMES (network for women in Fisheries Crimes and Law Enforcement)
  • Mrs. Emma C. Glassco, Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, Liberia
  • Ms. Aaju Peter, Lawyer, Translator & Inuit Cultural Advocate, Canada, Greenlandic Iqaluit, Nunavut 

11.00 - 11.30

Coffee Break / Poster Session

11.30 - 12.40

Research Presentations - 4 Parallel Sessions


Session 1 - Increasing the visibility of women of the sea

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Session Chair: Dr. Irini Papanicolopulu, Associate Professor of International Law, Università di Milano-Bicocca 

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  • Alexandra Aguilar del Valle, Founder Green Nautical Miles, Global Transportation Strategy 
    • Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan, Empowering Women to Protect Our Legacy
  • Natalia Briceno, WSI Consultant, The International Association for Women in the Seafood Industry 
    • The seafood industry is not attractive to women: Is it really? Putting gender on the agenda of the seafood industry, results from a global survey
  • Madeleine Gustavsson, Research Fellow, University of Exeter 
    • Gender (in)equalities on the coast? Exploring women’s changing roles, identities and wellbeing in small-scale fishing families of the UK
  • Emma Rodríguez Rodríguez, Associate Professor Labour Law and Social Security Law in University of Vigo
    • The labor and social conditions of women workers of the sea


Session 2 - Maritime safety and security from gender perspectives

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Session Chair: Dr. Laura Carballo Piñeiro, Professor, World Maritime University 

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  • Patricia Tutalo, Commander, Gender Policy Advisor, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, US Coast Guard (USCG); Erin Williams, Commander, Marine Safety Unit Duluth, USCG & Chair, CG Women's Leadership Initiative 
    • Recipe for Success: Key Ingredients to Create an Inclusive Environment for Women
  • Isabel Lirola-Delgado, Associate Professor for International Public Law, University of Santiago de Compostela (confirmed)
    • Maritime Security Strategies and Gender Perspective: Implications for the Development of United Nations SDG 5
  • Sayedeh Hajar Hejazi, Researcher, Human Rights at Sea 
    • Seafarer Abandonment: A Human Rights at Sea Perspective from Iran
  • María Fernanda Pizzini Bontempo, South Atlantic Maritime Lawyer, Aerospace & Maritime Centre of Mar del Plata (CAM) 
    • Integrated Feminine Elements: The Sea, The Woman and Her Learning of the Marine Environment for the Development of Humanity

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Session 3 - Empowering women in maritime business

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Session Chair: Dr. Momoko Kitada, Associate Professor, World Maritime University 

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  • Laura Burns, Technical Communications; Lucy King, Marketing Manager; Kattie Lam, Product Manager; Valeria Surk, Product Specialist; Veson Nautical 
    • The Impact of Digital Transformation on Gender Equality in Commercial Maritime
  • Dr. Pınar Ozdemir , Piri Reis University
    • A Journey to Maritime Women Leadership: Project Mentoress
  • Aspasia Pastra, Research Associate, WMU 
    • Women in the Board of Directors: The Case of Greek Listed Companies
  • Meenaksi Bhirugnath-Bhookhun, Former Chairperson of the Association of Women Managers in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (WOMESA) 
    • Beyond Business-As-Usual: The role of women professionals in maritime clusters

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Session 4 - Closing the gender gap in the maritime community

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Session Chair: Dr. Max Mejia, Professor, World Maritime University 

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  • Tae-eun Kim, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Maritime Operations, University of South-Eastern Norway
    • Investigating the influence of autonomy on gender gap in seafarer employment, education and training
  • Sarita Mahabir-Lee, Senior Instructor; Vivian Rambarath-Parasram, Assistant Professor, The University of Trinidad and Tobago 
    • Forging ahead: leveraging inclusive and equitable education to bridge the gender gap
  • Tom Storey, 2nd Officer, UK
    • Bringing Gender Balance to an Even Keel: How can all women crewing help address the gender balance within the shipping industry?
  • Maria Emilynda Jeddahlyn Pia V. Benosa, Lawyer, Senior Researcher, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, University of the Philippines (tbc)
    • She-based: Developments in Promoting Occupational Gender Balance for Filipino Women Seafarers

12.40 - 14.10

Lunch

14.10 - 15.40

Panel E: Partnerships & Networking for Gender Equality

The final panel brings together all four themes (shipping, port, ocean & marine science, fishing & seafood harvesting) to focus on good practices in partnerships and networking for achieving gender equality

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Moderator: Ms. Deniece M. Aiken, Vice President, Legal & International Affairs / Executive Director, Maritime Training Centre, Caribbean Maritime University 

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  • Ms. Sanjam Sahi Gupta,  Director, Sitara Shipping Ltd. 
  • Capt. Patrik Dahlgren, Senior Vice President, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 
  • Dr. Kaoru Kubokawa, Professor, University of Tokyo; Founder, Women for One Ocean 
  • Ms. Ore O. Toua, Maritime Training Adviser, SPC; GHG Officer, MTCC Pacific 
  • Dr. Milena Arias Schreiber, Too Big to Ignore Network, University of Gothenburg - School of Global Studies
  • Ms. Siti Noraishah  Azizan, General Manager, Sabah Ports Sdn. Bhd.
  • Ms. Ally Cedeno, Founder, Women Offshore 

15.40 - 16.10

Coffee Break / Circulation of a draft conclusion

16.10 - 17.00

Conclusions and Closing Remarks

  • Moderator: Ms. Nancy Wakarima Karigithu, State Department for Shipping and Maritime, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development and Public Works ​

Closing Remarks

  • Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President, WMU