The 5-week IOI (International Ocean Institute) Regional Ocean Governance Course has kicked off, for the 13th successive year, at the start of November, during a ceremony which was opened through a video message by EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella. Over the previous 12 years, the IOI Malta Training Course has trained over 200 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 course alumni total 18, hailing from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, Palestine, Romania, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Poland, Lithuania, China and Malta. 

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 and this year’s programme includes two ad hoc seminars so as to reflect contemporary developments in ocean governance – ocean diplomacy (a seminar supported by the EU Commission representation in Malta) and climate change impacts on polar environments. The Ocean Governance content in fact covers 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. Two fieldtrips 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 Master in Ocean Governance and the Master in Applied Oceanography. 

The course programme:

• draws upon the conduct of maritime affairs at the international and regional level in a holistic and integrated approach;
  
• 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;
  
• considers 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;
  
• brings to the forefront the characteristics of seas as different and sensitive as the Mediterranean, Black, Baltic and the Caspian Seas within the ambit of ocean governance.  
  

For the first time, the IOI Malta Training Course is accredited by the University of Malta in the form of three stand-alone Study Units (GSC5101, GSC5102, GSC5103), carrying a total of 15 ECTS credits.

The Course Director is Dr. Awni Behnam, Honorary President of the IOI, whilst Course Manager is Prof. Alan Deidun, from the Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, who is also the Director of the IOI Malta Training Centre. Ms. Antonella Vassallo is Managing Director at the IOI HQ on campus, and oversees the organisation of a number of similar training courses by IOI in other regions, including Canada, China, South Africa, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Brasil. Further details about the course can be gleaned from the course website.