The 5-week IOI (International Ocean Institute) Regional Ocean Governance Course was launched for the 11th successive year, at the start of November. Although the Course is offered under the aegis of the IOI, the University of Malta contributes heavily to the same Course, both through its academic staff and also through its financial, administrative support. 

Over the previous 10 years, the IOI Course has trained a total of 163 mid-career participants hailing from a total of 35 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 students total 18, hailing from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Turkmenistan, Russia, Albania, Georgia, Turkey and China. 

This year’s programme includes two specialised thematic seminars reflecting contemporary developments in ocean governance – the Seminar on the Transition to the post-2015 Development Goals with special reference to SDG 14 concerning the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Oceans, Seas & Marine Resources and another seminar on Arctic Issues. Two field trips are also held within the course timeline, one within the Grand Harbour and Marsaxlokk and the other to the Dwejra MPA in Gozo. Some of the lectures held within the IOI Course, including the special session on Marine Spatial Planning, are offered to students following a number of other University courses, including the Masters in Ocean Governance and the Masters in Applied Oceanography. 

The Course Director is Dr Awni Behnam, Honorary President of the IOI, whilst Course Manager is Prof. Alan Deidun, from the Department of Geosciences. Ms Antonella Vassallo, the Managing Director at the IOI HQ on campus, oversees the organisation of a number of similar training courses by IOI in other regions, including Canada, China, South Africa and Turkmenistan. 

This training programme builds upon the more than 35 years’ experience of the International Ocean Institute in conducting training and capacity building programmes on ocean governance. The Ocean Governance content covers contemporary approaches to coastal and ocean management, with an emphasis on the 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.

The course programme draws upon the conduct of maritime affairs at the international and regional level in a holistic and integrated approach; it focuses on linkages between natural, social and economic sciences, the research-management interface and the support of technology to enable the effective achievement of ocean management and sustainable development.

While considering the implications of international and regional policies, including the EU Integrated Maritime Policy for the European regional seas, with a science-based and holistic approach to policy undertakings that takes into account the impact of international governance structures, it brings to the forefront the characteristics of seas as different and sensitive as the Mediterranean, Black, Baltic and Caspian within the ambit of ocean governance.  

The course curriculum is divided into four main modules presented over a five-week period, giving altogether a broad approach to the theme of the course: Global Ocean Governance Framework, Managing our Relations with the Oceans, Conflict Management, Consensus Building, and Regional Ocean Governance Frameworks for the Mediterranean, Black, Baltic and Caspian Seas 

For more details about the course please visit the course website

Expressions of interest in attending for the 2016 course may be sent to ioihq@ioihq.org.mt.