Seafarers' Trust Celebrates 30 Years - Welfare Event London

21 March 2012
Seafarers' Trust Celebrates 30 Years With Welfare Event In London
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust will celebrate its 30th birthday with a conference in London tomorrow exploring how best to provide for the welfare needs of the world’s seafarers in the 21st century. The event will share the experiences of the welfare community, unions and shipping industry, and explore new ways of helping seafarers.

The Seafarers Welfare Matters seminar will take place from 13:30 to 17:00 at Church House, 27 Great Smith Street, London W1 (www.churchhouseconf.co.uk). There are still a few places free for press and interested parties – please send an email to seminarbooking@itf.org.uk if you want to attend.

Tom Holmer, administrative officer of the Seafarers’ Trust, commented: “The Trust has 30 years of experience to draw on and a superb network of people we’ve worked with who are leaders in this field, and many of them will be here tomorrow.”

He continued: “Legislative, social and technical factors mean that seafarers’ needs are changing, and we have to be ready to change to meet them. The much hoped for ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention, for example, will throw up new challenges and opportunities for welfare providers, and this will be firmly on the agenda.”

Roy Paul, programme manager of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme, and Seafarers’ Trust assistant administrative officer, added: “This event will draw on and share the knowledge built up over the last three decades, right up to the recent experience of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme - which is addressing the profound human cost of modern piracy - and the lessons of other recent events. We are pleased to be able to host the launch of the Apostleship of the Sea’s report on working with cruise ship crews, which includes the pastoral aid offered to those on board the Costa Concordia after its sinking.”

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The Seafarers’ Trust is the charity arm of the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

The Seafarers Welfare Matters seminar will explore the following topics and issues:

First Session: Why MLC2006 is important and what it means in practice

Why the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 is important to seafarers’ welfare
Tim Springett, head of employment, UK Chamber of Shipping.

Why is seafarers’ welfare important to the maritime industry
Natalie Shaw, secretary, International Shipping Federation (ISF)

Why is seafarers’ welfare important to port authorities
TBC

Welfare is a human or legal right
Deidre Fitzpatrick, director, Seafarers Rights International (SRI)

Welfare is about wellbeing
Hennie La Grange, general secretary of the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA)

Second Session: Welfare at the sharp end

What a difference funding makes
Roger Harris ICSW (International Committee for Seafarers Welfare)

Welfare services in the seafarers’ centre.
Jan Oltmanns, director of Duckdalben Seafarers Centre, Hamburg - German Seamens Mission

Welfare services on board passenger ships.
Fr Giacomo Martino, coordinator for Apostleship of the Sea in Italy (with reference to the Costa Concordia)

Welfare and Health – the Seafarers Health Information Programme (SHIP)
Dr Suresh Indani, president, International Maritime Health Association (IMHA)

Welfare when things go wrong.
Roy Paul, ITF Seafarers’ Trust/Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme

DVDs of Trust Matters, a new 30 minute film that charts the Seafarers’ Trust’s work wordwide will be available to press attending the event. If you cannot attend and would like to receive a copy please email dawson_sam@itf.org.uk with your postal address. A five minute short version will be shown at the event and can be seen now at http://youtu.be/7a9YMQFOL8Q

ENDS

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