RED MAMLa REPRESENTATION AT THE SEMINAR FOR HEADS OF MARITIME AUTHORITIES ROCRAM-CA

From November 14 to 18, in Guatemala City, the Seminar for Heads of ROCRAM CA Maritime Authorities was held, being the organizers of the event the General Maritime Directorate of Guatemala - DIGEMAR.

During the opening ceremony, the welcome was given by Major General Henry Yovani Reyes Chigua, Minister of National Defense, the highest national maritime authority.

Then, the Director General of the Merchant Marine of Honduras, Edgar Isrrael Soriano Ortiz, delivered a message to the audience for the beginning of this event. 

Vice Admiral Edy Santiago Chinchilla Archila, Vice Minister of the Navy of the Ministry of National Defense, gave the official speech for the beginning of the event.

The activities of the first day of the Seminar began with a presentation by the Technical Secretariat of ROCRAM - CA, where Eva Calderon, spoke about the joint work with OMI and the role of coordination in the execution of the annual planning and collaborative activities between OMI and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Complementing this presentation, Carlos Salgado, Chief of the Latin America and Caribbean Section in the Technical Cooperation Division - IMO, referred to the Memorandum of Understanding between IMO and COCATRAM, which aims to promote cooperation actions for the mutual benefit of the parties considering support requirements for ROCRAM-CA member countries, and thus facilitate the effective development of a work program that enhances the region.

The second panel was dedicated to IMO Gender Program and COCATRAM's Website Project. Lissette Moreno, Honorary Member of Red MAMLa, presented the Project of COCATRAM Website Redesign, talked about the work program and the major challenges faced by this proposal, highlighting teamwork as a key factor in the progress achieved to date. She ended her presentation by exhibiting the first prototype of the new COCATRAM Website, urging those present to make their evaluations and observations in order to integrate them into the construction and design process.

The next presentation was given by Mariana Noceti, in charge of the IMO's Gender Program, who pointed out the work that the IMO has developed in this area since 1988, adopting actions to achieve equality for women in the maritime industry. "...which undoubtedly means progress for all"; and reaffirms the organization's commitment to help its Member States to comply with the UN 2030 Agenda and in particular Goal 5 "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls".

In closing, Elvia Bustavino, President of Red MAMLa, presented about our Network and the achievements made this year, highlighting the efforts aimed at establishing new support networks and strategic alliances with different actors in the maritime, port and logistics sector, always with the aim of creating more spaces for more women to participate in this industry and at the table where decisions are made, "...only then can we contribute with our knowledge and leadership to the sustainable development of these sectors".

The following sessions included the virtual presence of IMO Consultants, who are currently working on the development of Thematic Programs for the implementation of IMO International Conventions in Central American countries. Thus, and according to the topic in which they lead each consultancy, Jorge Vielma referred to the SAR Consultancy; Manuel Moreno presented the findings obtained in the STCW Consultancy; Ricardo Boke made the ISM Presentation; Marcelo Albarrán presented the results of the FAL Consultancy; Eladio Peñaloza referred to the MARPOL Consultancy; Carolina Riesco spoke about the challenges in the adoption of International Maritime Legislation in national policies; Hugo López referred to the work of the ROCRAM-CA Network of Legal Advisors and Roberto Annichini and Mauricio Riquelme presented the Technical Cooperation Activities Follow-up Project.

The last day of the Seminar was dedicated to the presentation of OMI topics through their representatives: Tamara Barabadze from the Partnerships and Projects Department who commented on the actions of the Glolitter Project; Gisela Vieira, from the Maritime Security Section who commented on the objectives and planning of the program; and Fredrik Haag, Head of the London Convention and Ocean Affairs Office, who spoke on the importance of the London Protocol.

As a special guest, Haydée Rodriguez Romero, from MarViva presented on the SARGADOM Project, and how science is being built for high seas governance.

The event ended with the final conclusions by the IMO Representative, Carlos Salgado and the closing speech by the Vice Minister of the Navy, Vice Admiral Edy Santiago Chinchilla Archila of the Ministry of National Defense of Guatemala.

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