DFO-WMU Empowering Women Programme Endorsed as an Ocean Decade Action by IOC-UNESCO

The World Maritime University’s (WMU) research and capacity building programme on Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Empowering Women Programme) has been endorsed as a Decade Action of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Ocean Decade). The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO) announced the endorsement on World Oceans Day, 8 June 2021.

Illustration by Susanne Landis for the World Maritime University-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute

WMU’s Empowering Women Programme is generously sponsored by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), with additional support from The Nippon Foundation, and is delivered through a multidisciplinary team at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute.

The Programme will enhance the capacity to explore and promote women’s empowerment and gender equality in the conduct of ocean science and in science-dependent governance systems. Research findings will identify key barriers and good practice contributing to a proposed Strategy and Action Plan to help deliver equal opportunities for full participation and leadership by women at all levels of ocean science under the Ocean Decade.

The Programme will enhance ongoing collaborations with partners including intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, research institutes, universities, and individuals to deliver substantive research outputs contributing to transformative actions.

Regarding the endorsement, Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President of WMU said, “The Ocean Decade provides a golden opportunity to achieve gender equality in ocean science. I firmly believe that through a range of initiatives, the Empowering Women Programme, delivered by the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, will enhance the capacity to explore and promote women’s empowerment and gender equality in the conduct of ocean science, as well as in science-dependent governance systems.

The Programme is committed to contributing transformative actions to empower women from all backgrounds for the Ocean Decade. We could not be more pleased that the importance of this Programme has been duly recognized by IOC-UNESCO with recognition as an official Ocean Decade Action.”

The IOC-UNESCO Decade Action endorsement of the Empowering Women Programme is a milestone in WMU’s involvement in the Ocean Decade and furthers the University’s substantive efforts to promote gender equality in line with Goal 5 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It recognizes that WMU’s Empowering Women Programme will play a central role in supporting the Ocean Decade mission to catalyze transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development. Through advancing women’s participation in ocean science at all levels, the Programme supports the achievement of the Ocean Decade vision by advocating for ‘the people we need for the ocean we want

About the IOC-UNESCO Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030 ‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem.

The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and to deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.

About the World Maritime University and the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute

The World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, Sweden is established within the framework of the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The mission of WMU is to be the world centre of excellence in postgraduate maritime and oceans education, professional training and research while building global capacity and promoting sustainable development.

WMU’s vision is to inspire leadership and innovation for a sustainable maritime and oceans future. WMU is an organization by and for the international maritime community and is committed to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute was inaugurated in May 2018 and made possible through generous support from The Nippon Foundation of Japan, the Governments of Sweden, Canada, and Germany, as well as the City of Malmö.

The vision of the Institute is to act as an independent focal point for the ocean science-policy-law-industry-society interface where policymakers, the scientific community, regulators, industry actors, academics, and representatives of