Commemorating Blue Economy Day |18 July 2023

Seychelles Nation

Blue Economy education  gathers pace

By Diane Larame

Efforts to educate the youth and the general public on the Blue Economy are gaining momentum now that the second cohort of the Blue Economy Youth group has been launched.

The launch ceremony took place yesterday at the Seychelles Maritime Academy to coincide with Blue Economy Day on July 17.

The event, organised by the Department of the Blue Economy, was followed by a panel session on the importance of youth in this sphere, by a group of professionals within different sectors of the Blue Economy.

Present at the event were the Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Jean-François Ferrari; the French ambassador, Olivia Berkeley-Christmann; the principal secretary for the Blue Economy, Phillianne Ernesta; and the principal secretary for youth, Ralph Jean-Louis.

In his opening speech, Minister Ferrari said that part of the ministry’s strategy was to continue to educate the youth and the general public on the Blue Economy. “This is why we have engaged with the Ministry of Education and with you today to see the integration of sustainable ocean management and ocean literacy in secondary schools, which will allow learners to understand their roles towards the ocean and the ocean’s roles in our lives,” he said.

The new cohort consists of seven members namely David Boniface, Kenny Elisabeth, Jean-Yves Ernesta, Felicita Filippin, Tyler Fred, Amina Furneau, and Bianca Mazorchi.

The panel discussion was moderated by the senior monitoring and evaluation officer in the Blue Economy department, Gabriella Gonthier and saw the participation of four individuals – Amina Furneau, Mariette Dine, Corianna Julie and Sharif Antoine – who discussed their views on the subject of Blue Economy, tackling important questions such as ‘can sustainability and economy co-exist in the Blue Economy’ and ‘how can the Blue Economy be made better’.

Miss Julie, a science officer at the Seychelles Islands Foundation, said that the panel discussion was fun and very interesting as they got the chance to try and sensitise the youths present about what the Blue Economy entails and also why it was important.

“I think this is very important for the future of the Blue Economy, because we need a very holistic approach where everyone is involved, everyone contributes and reaps the benefits leaving no one behind. I hope we managed to get this message across to the new cohort,” she said.

In her closing remarks, Ambassador Berkeley-Christmann said that the French would be very pleased to assist the department in ways that will help boost the information and development unit within the Blue Economy.

“It will be a big challenge, but we want to carry on with these types of partnership,” she said.

Photos by Louis Toussaint