From 14 to 24 June 2016, 27 senior port managers (10 women) from 9 French-speaking port communities in Africa and the Caribbean successfully completed a Training of Trainers Workshop covering the first part of the course on Modern Port Management. With enhanced knowledge on the functioning of modern ports, graduates now look forward to acting as local instructors of the UNCTAD/TrainForTrade course in their home port communities.
Module 1 to 4 of the UNCTAD/TrainForTrade course on Modern Port Management Programme was delivered by experts from the French partner Nantes Saint-Nazaire Sea Port (GPMNSN), in collaboration with experienced instructors from member port communities over the period of two weeks. This was an opportunity for participants not only to gain insights into the functioning of other ports from the network, but also to exchange among peers and to receive a guided tour of the port and its installations.
The two-week workshop was launched in the presence of the CEO of Nantes Saint-Nazaire Sea Port, senior representatives from the port's Public Relations team, as well as Ms Geneviève Féraud, Head of the Knowledge Development Branch, DTL, UNCTAD.
Having successfully completed an online evaluation after each module, port managers from Benin, Senegal, Togo, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Mauritania and Madagascar are now well prepared to teach the modules back home.
Discussions on lessons learned and exchanges on best practices took part at the end of the meeting. Participants noted the high quality of the modules and particularly appreciated the efforts the UNCTAD/TrainForTrade team had made to update their content. They also said that this course had allowed them to gain a better understanding of the port sector as a whole, which kindled their keen interest in expanding this knowledge even further in future. Exchanges amongst themselves had been the most enriching part of the workshop, they explained. In this regard, they highlighted the importance of trainers from the network also teaching some modules during the Training of Trainers and commended UNCTAD for increasingly making this possible. Feedback was also given to GPMNSN for the exceptionally warm welcome the port and its staff had provided throughout the workshop.
Recognizing the crucial role of the Programme in the development and modernization of ports around the globe, the representatives of prospective member port communities (Madagascar and Mauritania) expressed their intention to also become part of the network.
The organizers from Nantes particularly noted the increased number of female participants in this year's session and highlighted the important role of gender balance in all walks of life. They encouraged the port communities and UNCTAD to continue promoting equal representation of women.
This event was organized in cooperation with Nantes Saint-Nazaire Sea Port (GPMNSN).
