ABIDJAN WELCOMES THE GENERAL MEETING OF PORT AND MARITIME PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S NETWORK OF WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (NWMPP WCA)

Activités portuaires Friday 27 September 2024

 

The event which will be held at the Headquarters of Abidjan's Port Authority will gather more than 150 attendees originating from 16 African Countries. The general meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Mr. Amadou KONÉ, Minister of Transport, and under the auspices of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA)

During three days several panel meetings will discuss on the theme "Blue Economy and Climate change" challenges and Opportunities For the African Port and Maritime women».

Established in February 2007 in Benin by the women from member countries of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa, the Network of  Women Maritime and Port Professionals of West and Central Africa (NWMPP-WCA) gathers 18 members countries: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sénégal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Just like any member country, Côte d'Ivoire has a National Chapter named the Network of Women Maritime and Port Professionals of  Côte d'Ivoire (NWMPP-CI) and chaired since March 2023 by Dr. Titi PALÉ, Commercial, Marketing and communication Director of Abidjan Port Authority.

The Network which gathers women workers of the Abidjan Port's and San Pedro Port's platforms aims at strengthening its members’ Capacities, exchanging information, skills and experiences among its members, creating a pool of female experts and trainers at the international level, as well as ensuring women's representation in decision bodies.

The creation of the Network is part of the goal Target 5 on Gender Equality of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Thus, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) made concerted efforts to improve gender balance, in compliance with the 21st century expectations by initiating a Woman in Maritime Program (WIMA), facilitating the creation of professional networks, so as to improve gender balance in the shipping industry. Eight (08) Women in Maritime Association have been established in Africa, Arab states, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.

These Women in Maritime and Port Associations have been established with 3 objectives: Training - visibility – Recognition.