Photos by Kristov Scicluna (Comms Office, UM)
The annual five-week IOI (International Ocean Institute) Malta Training Course on Regional Ocean Governance Course has kicked off, through a ceremony presided over by IOI Honorary President Prof. Awni Behnam (Course Director) held last week. The keynote speech was delivered by University of Malta President Emeritus George Vella, whilst other distinguished guests at the ceremony included former EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs Karmenu Vella, Dr. Christopher Cutajar (Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs), Prof. Alan Deidun (Course Manager, Malta’s Ocean Ambassador and Director of the IOI Malta Training Centre) and Ms Antonella Vassallo, Managing Director of the IOI.
To date, the IOI Malta Training Course has trained almost 400 mid-career participants hailing from almost 40 countries bordering 4 different regional seas (Mediterranean, Black, Black and Caspian Seas) as well as from a number of observer countries, including China. This year’s course alumni total 15, hailing from Georgia, India, Ukraine, the UK, China, Tunisia, Iran, Lithuania and Malta. The training programme builds upon the more than 40 years' experience of the International Ocean Institute in conducting training and capacity building programmes on ocean governance (the first such course was held in 1983 by IOI Canada based in Halifax).
Despite being one of seven similar training programmes offered globally by the IOI, it is to date the only one accredited one, through an active collaboration with the University of Malta, representing a total of 15 ECTS through three different Study-Units offered by the Department of Geosciences within the Faculty of Science (GSC 5101, GSC 5102 and GSC 5103). Through its global network of training centres, the IOI, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has managed to train over 2,200 alumni on thematics which include ocean governance, maritime spatial planning and ocean literacy.
The Course programme, which will run till the 6 December 2024, is a highly intensive one, covering contemporary approaches to coastal and ocean management, with an emphasis on moral, ethical and legal values in Ocean Governance (equity and peaceful uses of the ocean) under the governance architecture of UNCLOS and related international instruments and agreements. Course applications are normally opened each year over the April-June period.
Further information about the course can be gleaned online.
