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 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,” said Tom Holmer, administrative officer of the Seafarers’ Trust. “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, program manager of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program 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 Program, which is addressing the profound human cost of modern piracy, and the lessons of other recent events.”
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.