WORLD OCEAN COUNCIL (WOC) AND WISTA INTERNATIONAL TO SIGN MOU AT SUSTAINABLE OCEAN SUMMIT

The WOC and WISTA will be initiating a partnership to advance women’s leadership in the ocean and coastal business community and the Sustainable Blue Economy at the 7th Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS) 2019, Paris, 20-22 November.

The Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) is a global organization connecting female executives and professionals from all sectors of the maritime industry. With more than 3,000 members in 49 countries, WISTA leads with the conviction that gender diversity and inclusions are the keys to providing a sustainable future for the shipping, trading, and logistics industries worldwide.

Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, President of WISTA International, said, “Sustainable development issues are key drivers to the future of the maritime and shipping sector and many women are leading the way in sustainable development, science and stewardship of our oceans. WISTA is proud to partner with the World Ocean Council to amplify the voice of female leaders in our industry to promote ‘Corporate Ocean Responsibility’.”

Paul Holthus, WOC Founding President and CEO, added, “The WOC is honoured to work with WISTA, as a leading international networking organisation for engaging management level women in the maritime, trading and logistics sectors, to promote women’s engagement in ‘Corporate Ocean Responsibility’ among its members and the broader ocean business. We encourage women’s network organizations from other ocean industry sectors to consider partnering with the WOC as well.”

The MOU will be signed on 20 November at the annual WOC Sustainable Ocean Summit 2019 in Paris.

In addition, the SOS 2019 session on “Women in Ocean Industries: Leadership, Sustainable Development and Maritime Security” will be re-convening women leaders, including representation from WISTA, from across the maritime business sectors in a high-level plenary discussion to consider how well women’s leadership in the ocean business community is advancing and the challenges and opportunities for improving leadership by women in the ocean business community. For more information, visit https://www.sustainableoceansummit.org/program/.

With the theme of “Investing in Ocean Futures: Finance and Innovation for the Blue Economy”, the SOS 2019 will be the foremost international business conference dedicated to investment and innovation for ocean sustainable development.