|
PACEM in
MARIBUS XXXII
Women,
Youth and the Sea: Partnering
for protection of the marine environment and the
sustainable use of its resources
5 - 8
November 2007, Malta
Forty
years after the famous speech of Ambassador of Malta
Arvid Pardo at the UN Assembly where the Ocean was
proclaimed as a Common Heritage of Mankind, Pacem in
Maribus XXXII will gather in Malta with an endeavour
to break new ground in its conference series by engaging
two new constituencies, women and youth, on whom the
future of the Ocean so strongly depends.
The
conference will mobilize considerable skills, talents
and experiences in advancing and promoting the
sustainable use of marine resources and sound ocean
governance. It will also move beyond traditional
conference formats of reports and presentations by
becoming more interactive with a greater emphasis on
dialogue and broad participation.
The
conference will start by including a high level segment
of Governments, inter-governmental organisations,
including women and youth leaders from civil society,
whose vision, commitments and contribution have served
to advance the cause of sustainable oceans governance,
and inspire and mobilize people to take action for the
creation of effective solutions. In this connection, it
will help the Youth to shape their future and emphasise
the quality of life and the economic contribution that
women offer in maritime activities, including fisheries,
distribution, and coastal and insular developments.
PIM
XXXII will be organized around three themes which will
be of direct relevance to women and youth. To this end
it will explore how changes in the oceans are affecting
the lives and livelihoods of women and youth and
endangering their environmental patrimony. These themes
are:
Theme
1: The State
of the Ocean: Current Challenges and Future Prospects -
Implications for Women and Youth
This
will explore such critical issues as climate change,
threat to marine biodiversity and food security, marine
disasters and coastal vulnerability, with special
reference to their implications for Women and Youth. It
will also attempt to develop new approaches and
methodologies for the participation of women and youth
in the management of ocean space and sustainable oceans
governance.
Theme
2:
Involvement of Women and Youth within the Millennium
Development Goals’ Strategies, Options and Challenges
Related to the Ocean Protection
These
sessions will focus attention on the ways in which women
and youth may become more fully engaged in advancing the
MDGs and promoting the UN Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development. It will thus focus on the role
of women and youth in the eradiation of poverty by using
ocean resources and in the protection of the marine
environment. It will emphasis the need for curriculum
development, teacher training and capacity building,
through global training partnerships, towards the
creation of appropriate employment in maritime and
related services. It will also seek to find the most
appropriate language for reaching all youth through the
utilization of the new media as well as advanced tools
for communication, public awareness and action. A Youth
Parliament, Workshop of Young Entrepreneurs, and a
Women’s Caucus will be organized as a way of
facilitating the advancement of these objectives and to
help frame the conference outcomes and declarations.
Theme
3: New
Solidarities for Sustainable Ocean Governance:
Engagement of Women and Youth
Given
the differences between realities, interests and
expectations among women and youth in developing and
developed countries, the conference would seek to
provide a common framework for new solidarities and
opportunities for socio-economic equity, as well as
adjustments to current institutional arrangements and
constraints that would empower both women and youth to
become more effective participants. Greater emphasis
will be placed on realistic and practical solutions and
sustained follow-up action. It will thus facilitate an
open debate where all views will be heard and
commitments made with a view to determine what each of
us might do in promoting the goals, objectives and
outcomes of the conference.
The
themes will be linked to panel discussions, parallel
sessions, contributed papers and poster sessions, with a
view to developing new solutions, actionable outcomes
and implementable results. The results of these
deliberations will be incorporated in the Conference
Proceedings and will help to shape the Conference
Declarations. In line with the IOI tradition, two public
lectures will be featured as tributes to the vision and
leadership of Elisabeth Mann Borgese - the IOI founder
and Arvid Pardo.
Within
the Conference Programme, important side events are
planned that will engage the participation of youth and
women including, Art and Cultural Festival, Exhibitions
including the children artworks, Underwater Film
Festival, Concerts themed around the Ocean, and awards
ceremonies to distinguished personalities, and many
other events.
Chair
of the International Organising Committee:
Dr Noel J. Brown, USA
Chair
of the Local Organising Committee:
Dr Aldo Drago, Director, IOI-Malta Operational Centre,
Malta
IOI Executive Director:
Dr Iouri Oliounine, IOI Headquarters, Malta
For
further information and registration form, please see
the conference website at
www.capemalta.net/pim2007
|
