The women of WIMOWCA DRC, strongly represented at the first Annual General Assembly and Conference of the Association in Dakar

From 06 to 07 December 2022, an important delegation of women from WIMOWCA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (WIMOWCA DRC), led by Mrs. Chantal NGOIE, National President of WIMOWCA DRC and Mrs. Caroline MAWANDJI, co-founder and member of the executive committee of the said association, took part in Dakar in the first Annual General Assembly and Conference of the Women’s Association of the Maritime Sector of West and Central Africa (WIMOWCA).

This participation of WIMOWCA DRC in this first Annual General Assembly and Conference of WIMOWCA, was very enriching according to Mrs. Chantal NGOIE, who specifies that “the conference which dealt with the main theme of the ”Transition towards a more ecological, digitalized and sustainable maritime transport”, resulted in important recommendations concerning :
– the systematization of the use of ICT in port management;
– access to training in the sector and to management functions for maritime women
– the rational and sustainable management of marine waste;
– the fight against maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and against IUU fishing.

“The holding of this AGM and conference is a happy outcome. I would not have missed for anything in the world this opportunity to physically meet my sisters of WIMOWCA as well as those of sister associations (Network of Women Maritime and Port Professionals of West and Central Africa, WIMAFRICA, WOMESA and others). In addition, the theme of the Conference is topical. The interests covered are economic, security and environmental,” said Mrs. Caroline MAWANDJI.

For the National President of WIMOWCA DRC: “Marine biodiversity understood as the diversity of life in the seas and oceans, participates in the achievement of certain balances on the planet earth. As such, this attic provides products and services that contribute to the health, well-being and prosperity of humanity. The rational and sustainable management of the wealth resulting from this biodiversity is essential for sustainable economic, social and environmental development.

She emphasizes “I am of the opinion that this issue should be an integral part of the national development policies of African countries, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the SDGs; particularly SDG 14, which puts a special emphasis between marine biodiversity and the sustainable development goals of planet earth.“

Apart from WIMOWCA DRC, twelve other delegations of women from the maritime sector from different countries of the African continent, namely: Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, were present alongside representatives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) during these two days of fruitful exchanges, where the role of women’s leadership in the promotion of a sustainable maritime sector was addressed.

As such, Mrs. MAWANDJI testifies that “The maritime sector is a sector originally male. She confirms that “According to the IMO, the United Nations agency in charge of the maritime sector, there are only 2% of women in the world who work in the sector. And that “The IMO encourages member states to put in place policies to encourage women to enter the maritime sector.

Also, she added: “Young girls who want to enter the industry need role models. WIMOWCA’s goals also include coaching and mentoring.

In addition to organizations such as the Women’s Maritime Association of Africa (WIMAFRICA), the Women’s Maritime Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (WOMESA), the West and Central Africa Network of Women Maritime and Port Executives, the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), this AGM and Conference also saw the participation of several Senegalese governmental bodies, namely the National Maritime Affairs Agency (ANAM), the Senegalese Shippers’ Council (COSEC), the Senegalese Consortium of Maritime Activities (COSAMA), etc.

As a reminder, WIMOWCA is the eighth regional association to be created as part of the IMO strategy to enhance the contribution of women as key stakeholders in the maritime sector. In line with the objectives and missions of WIMOWCA, the President of the DRC Chapter has placed her priority actions on the empowerment and promotion of women in the maritime sector, through :
– capacity building of women through access to information and training;
– for women career workers, ensuring that they benefit from the training courses organized by the IMO for women in the DRC, but also taking advantage of online training offered by other organizations;
– for women producers (fishmongers, fish sellers, etc.), rely on their access to more efficient techniques and equipment in order to increase their profitability and their income;
– to encourage partnerships to be developed to support women producers in the sector;
– finalize two projects for the creation and development of fish processing and sales areas.

Also, in order to increase the female representation in the Congolese maritime industry, beyond the capacity building actions, Mrs. NGOIE plans to set up an observatory to monitor the careers of women in the sector, to develop women’s networking (interconnection of existing networks), to resort to mentoring thanks to the expertise of experienced women, and to carry out advocacy with the authorities of the sector.

By Pascaline Odoubourou