Elpi Petraki has been elected as the president of WISTA International, taking over from Despina Panayiotou Theodossiou.
Commenting on her election, Ms. Petraki stated:
I hope that I will be remembered as a president that brought new confidence to WISTA. I truly feel that in the last few years we have become an association that is an advocate for diversity and equality and an association that sits at the table with other industry associations and is part of those making the decisions and I think that WISTA is truly global now
Recently, IMO and WISTA International created the new Maritime Speakers Bureau platform, intending to end the tradition of all-male speaking panels.
The Maritime Speakers Bureau website is seeking positive commitment by asking people to sign one or more of its pledges: for speakers; organizers; and sponsors.
By signing, they are committing to highlighting where there is a lack of diversity at events and doing what they can to improve things to ensure that maritime events have diversity and inclusion.
The launch of the Maritime Speakers Bureau is another joint project under theIMO-WISTAMemorandum of Understanding(MoU)onpromoting greater diversity and inclusion through enhanced cooperation activities in the maritimesector.
The MoU, singed in 2020, aims to set a framework for both IMO and WISTA to promote gender diversity and inclusion as vital factors in providing a sustainable future for the shipping industry worldwide. Earlier this year, IMO and WISTA provided the results of the first, 2021, IMO-WISTA Women in Maritime survey.
