MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Following the traditional August holiday season in France, the IALA home team is in top gear to serve this year’ series of committee meetings at our Saint-Germain-en-Laye headquarters.
The four technical committees will each meet one week in quick succession throughout October – commencing with VTS45 and ENAV22, ENG8 and ARM8 following in this order. Attendance is expected to be very keen once again and early completion of the usual website registration is always a great help to the Secretariat.
Participants will have their work cut out with the new, four-year work programme (2018-2022) agreed by the Council in Incheon in June, with some adjustments to the committees’ respective remits to enhance the logical, pragmatic and coherent execution of the numerous tasks involved (the infogram can be found here http://www.iala-aism.org/e-bulletin/committee-structure-2018-2022/). The Council’s Policy Advisory Panel, in charge of overall coordination of the committees’ work, already met from 19 to 21 September (PAP 36).
There is still time to register for the North America e-Navigation Underway Conference, which will take place in Vallejo, California on 6 and 7 November. The theme is “e-Navigation: Opening the Door to the Future – Emerging technologies and their impact in the maritime industry”.
I draw attention to the planned Third Preparatory Diplomatic Conference to continue detailed consideration of the Draft IALA Convention’s text pertaining to the Association’s transition to intergovernmental status. Supported by the French Foreign Office, and with His Excellency, Mr Serge Ségura, French Ambassador for the Oceans, once again in the chair, this important Conference for the future of IALA will be hosted by the Government of Turkey in Istanbul from 12 to 14 March 2019.
National members and Government representatives are entitled to participate in the Conference. I kindly request them to complete advance registration as early as possible via the website (http://www.iala-aism.org/product/3rd-preparatory-diplomatic-conference/).
Meanwhile, those still wishing to submit comments to me (secgen@iala-aism.org) on the draft Convention text, as updated after the Second Preparatory Diplomatic Conference held in Marrakech in February of this year and circulated by e-mail (dated 6 April 2018), should do so without delay and not later than 30 September. The Council’s Legal Advisory Panel will convene for an extraordinary session (LAPex4) at our headquarters 21-23 November to review all received comments for incorporation into a new, consolidated draft text to facilitate the continuation of multilateral negotiations in Istanbul.
Among the current priorities of the World-Wide Academy (WWA) is the delivery of Level 1 AtoN Manager courses in France, China and Suriname. Later this month, the WWA Dean and I will visit Jimei University in Xiamen, where we each shall also deliver a lecture in the capacity of visiting professors.
Meanwhile, arrangements are in place for the Academy’s small staff complement of currently three officers (including the Dean) to receive additional support to cope with the relentlessly increasing training and capacity-building workload. Two new, professional recruits will join the IALA Secretariat on a full-time basis as from October. Working closely together, they will focus on strengthening the vital link between the Academy’s activities and the committees’ technical work, as well as providing hands-on support to committee meetings and associated workshops and seminars.
I invite readers to view the newly produced, short video introducing IALA and the WWA (http://www.iala-aism.org/about-iala/introduction-to-iala/). Please circulate it widely to interested parties around the world.
I trust that the video’s message will also inspire members to submit exciting proposals for a theme to be chosen by the Council, when it meets in December, to celebrate the first-ever World Marine Aids to Navigation Day in 2019 (on 1 July, to coincide with the day IALA was founded in 1957). As agreed by the General Assembly in Incheon, the idea is to promote greater awareness of IALA among the wider public and to support new developments in all relevant fields including Vessel Traffic Services. Proposals need to reach me (secgen@iala-aism.org) before 1 November 2018. More information is available from the website (http://www.iala-aism.org/world-marine-aids-to-navigation-day-2019-preparation/) and also provided in the letter I recently sent to all members (http://www.iala-aism.org/content/uploads/2018/09/Invite-to-members-to-submit-theme_EN-General.pdf).
