RED MAMLa EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS SPECIAL GUEST ON THE RADIO SHOW MUJER PRODUCTIVA

During the Program: Logistics 2022 Special, hosted by Nelly Sanchez and Jacqueline Zorrilla, 4 representatives of the Executive Committee of our organization were interviewed.

The space entitled: "MAMLa Network, strategic alliances, training and new projects" had as guests Elvia Bustavino (Panama), President of the MAMLa Network; Lieutenant Macarena Cladera (Uruguay), Director of the Social Committee; María Fernanda Ucciani (Naval Prefecture of Argentina), Director of the Technical Affairs Committee; and Lieutenant Draiza Medina (Venezuela), Director of Communications of the MAMLa Network.

Host Nelly Sanchez, Marketer and CEO NS Consulting & Training, begins the interview by addressing Elvia Bustavino, who asks her about the history of Red MAMLa, how the organization works and what is the expected development projection in the short and medium term.

Our President, begins her intervention referring to the birth of Red MAMLa as an organization in 2017 in Chile and how in 2019 in Cartagena they established the foundations, by electing the first Executive Committee. In addition, she commented that from there 2 new conferences were held with Panama and Brazil as host Member States, always keeping in mind the objective of strengthening the role of women and continuing to strengthen their training and empowerment.

"...Thus, the organizational chart is broken down into a Presidency and a General Coordination, located in Panama, and from that focal point we work virtually with the 6 Permanent Task Committees: Social Committee, Maritime Technical Affairs Committee, Communications Committee, External Relations and International Cooperation Committee, Legal Committee and Mentoring Committee.

Today we are more than 100 women members of MAMLa Network and of the 19 Member States, with 2 representatives from each Latin American Maritime Authority, Associate, Alternate and Honorary Members. Our main vision is to increase the visibility and recognition of the network and to promote the participation of young women in this industry.

What is Red MAMLa's Agenda and do they work with a specific SDG or with several?

On this topic, Macarena Cladera, Director of the Social Committee, explains that Red MAMLa works on strategic axes, as an association that supports the insertion of gender equity, as a pillar of planning design and execution of the tasks carried out in the maritime and port sector, aiming to strengthen the capacities and empowerment of women in Latin America. Likewise, Red MAMLa has worked on Sustainable Development Goals in line with the IMO, mainly with SDG 5 which is focused on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, being "...our greatest concern to contribute to enhance the inclusion of women and eliminate any form of discrimination in the development of the activities of the maritime port sector, as well as to promote parameters or standards that encourage the visible participation of women within the Maritime Authorities of Latin America".

In this way, Red MAMLa must contribute to a cultural change in the perception of women's participation as a valuable maritime resource in any area or related activities that they develop.

On the other hand, Macarena Cladera, referred to the work carried out with SDG 14 which seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and maritime resources, focused on reducing marine pollution and protecting and restoring ecosystems. "...The goal is to increase knowledge, research and the health of the oceans, for this, different activities have been carried out to raise awareness regarding environmental care, conservation of resources, encouraging that environmental care will improve the lives of our future generations."

What is the current participation of women in the maritime, port and logistics world, both in the region and globally?

Draiza Medina, Director of Communications, points out that currently women's participation can be called active participation, because, although it had been a field characterized by men, this has been decreasing. "We, from Red MAMLa, have been developing during the 9 months of this year, a very nice and interesting campaign called MAMLas al Timón, which has allowed us to make visible all those women who make life in the maritime, port and logistics sector of the Latin American Region. This project has allowed us to project professional milestones of the women who are part of our network, who have been generating breakthroughs in different areas, such as the Commanders of Service Boats in Chile, the General Director of Port and Auxiliary Industries of the Maritime Authority of Panama, the women of the International Registry of Ships in the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine of Honduras, those who have served in the conservation of the marine ecosystem in both Colombia and Honduras, and recent cases such as the Deputy Director of the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine of Honduras... this allows us to point out that the current participation of women in the maritime industry is very active and stimulates future generations."

"In Venezuela, the female personnel has also been breaking schemes from the Merchant Marine, the Navy and what concerns the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces that serves as Maritime Authority, example of this there are very particular and emotional cases as Captains of Height that have reached the position in this country, as well as the 3rd officer who is Commander of a vessel that carries passengers, having under her command 15 crew members. There are many cases to cite that are very emotional among them we can also mention another officer who serves as Chief Engineer on a tugboat and in the Navy there are cases of officers who have already held positions as Commanders of Hydrographic Boats, Commanders of Coast Guard Patrol Boats, Second Commanders of Hydrographic Stations, and as a personal example I can mention my case as the 1st woman crew member of a submarine in my country".

Let's list achievements... the milestones that are so difficult to mention.

Maria Fernanda Ucciani, Director of the Technical Affairs Committee, explains that the main purpose of the new administration of the organization is that Red MAMLa is captured by more women, expanding its representation by being present in different organizations, not only from the Maritime Authorities, but also from the private environment of the States that make up the network.

"The participation of women in different activities that are recognized in the Authorities or Organizations to which they belong and we bring them to give us some kind of training, which is also one of the pillars of this new administration."

"Another milestone to highlight is having our web page, which was quite an achievement. From this platform we can deliver information, different news and develop relevant topics for all those who visit us and for our membership. The objective is to provide information on current events and important topics that are discussed in the sector. We also have a very active social network that we invite you to join. All of this with the objective that women are made visible and that they know that there are many of us and that encourages us to continue in this sector, which is very interesting. We see the achievements of all the women who belong to the authorities and this task is also very gratifying, so I invite all of you to be part of this motive that leads us all to be in the same tune".

Next, Nelly Sanchez highlighted the presentation made by Elvia Bustavino at the last meeting held with COCATRANS. About this she said, "...the achievements that Red MAMLa has reached in such a short time are very great, everything that has been done is not because they are a network of women but because the work that has been done, is because they said SOMOS and got to work!" .... "it is inevitable, hearing about all the achievements, one is filled with honor, pride and satisfaction." 

"The challenge of all this is that Red MAMLa has a structure where the results speak for statistics, numbers, reports. One of the recent milestones is that 2 people, for the first time achieved at the international level to be part of the SEA WORLD, the Leadership Accelerator Program for the year 2022. These 30 candidates participated in many topics with a very demanding training, of which 2 belong to Red MAMLa, one is Carla Gonzales, associate member from Dominican Republic and the other is Carolina Pacheco, Permanent Representative from Chile. These are things that we have to highlight".

MAMLa Network actions, what has been the progress?

Macarena Cladera, Director of the Social Committee, explains how the Network has supported the participation and visibility of women in the maritime sector and women who have approached related activities or organizations, highlighting how "...an invaluable ally has been the IMO, since they have participated permanently in the events we have developed and have also made us participate as a network, in important events of the international plan. Personally, I was able to participate recently in the Viña del Mar meeting as a representative of the MAMLa Network, together with the directors Draiza Medina, María Fernanda Ucciani and Leticia Meza. Representing the network at this event is not only novel, but also highlights and enhances our role, leaving a mark on us."

"We have been able to carry out activities and events for many of us that were unthinkable, we have contributed to collaborate with the sustainable development goals set by the UN and in line with the IMO, and we have supported the reduction of the negative impact of marine pollution. For example, this year the network organized beach clean-up days in different countries. In relation to the marine ecosystem, agreements have been reached with various strategic allies to comply with our guidelines, which is why I believe that we continue to grow and to be proudly MAMLa". For example, MAMLas al Timón opens a range of visibility to the women who are part of the network, it is a project developed to give recognition to the women of our membership, for their work, studies and training".

What is MAMLa Network's vision regarding training and strategic alliances?

Complementing Macarena's comments and integrating the topics of training and strategic alliances, Elvia Bustavino points out: "...the MAMLas al Timón campaign has had an impressive acceptance, because when we send the profiles of our membership to the IMO and our strategic allies, they help us to disseminate this information, creating a virtual support for our MAMLas to transcend borders. For this reason, we urge all MAMLas to continue to enhance our achievements, it is necessary to have more visible women, more recognized women, so you can send all your profiles to our contact email coordinacion@redmamla.org, in order to give them that support and visibility so well deserved".

What should we expect in the medium and long term, according to the plans that the Network is currently working on?

Among the objectives that Red MAMLa is managing, María Fernanda Ucciani points out that "...currently we keep in the forefront for both short and long term plans, to continue working to increase the visibility of women in the maritime sector through our fundamental pillars: Training, Visibility, Recognition and Empowerment, establishing and strengthening more and more strategic links with governmental and private entities and international organisms".

For her part, Elvia Bustavino added: "...Red Mamla recognizes that no job is for a man or a woman, jobs are for everyone, all part of training and that is why it is responsible for taking this message not only to the Heads of the Maritime and Port Authorities, but to the Region, because the more women there are within an industry, the more important their training and support is, so there must be a commitment to gender equity".

"We are an association of women, led by women, with only one male member, which seeks collaborative work, because in our sector the most important thing is to work all together to make the Latin American region great and encourage new generations to be part of this industry from whatever sector they work in. We want to convey to all of them that they can continue to count on us to execute all those strategies they have, both the help with SDG 5 as well as with the technical content, as we have a varied and very professional membership. The Mamla network is for the benefit of Latin America.

Did you miss the interview? Go to the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24jLYL7VOU0

Visit Mujer Productiva Radio's website here:
https://mujerproductivaradio.net/

 

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