Dr. Evelyn Stefanaki was there with her camera
WISTA UK celebrated its annual summer reception in conjunction with the International Maritime Organization on the warm evening of the 21st of June 2023 – the Summer Solstice. The event was hosted once again at the IMO HQ on its magnificent terrace with spectacular views of the Houses of Parliament and Father Thames.
This year’s event paid homage to the commitment to diversity and inclusion in maritime sectors.
An inspiring address from Commodore Melanie Suzanne Robinson, CBE, ADC Senior Royal Naval Reserve officer and Commander of Maritime Reserves, kicked off the ceremony. She shared experiences on gender equality within the navy.
Baroness Charlotte Vere, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport (Aviation, Maritime and Security), honoured WISTA with her presence and invited more women to serve on the Maritime Council, a forum to drive collaboration between government and the maritime sector to meet future challenges and opportunities. in the next 5 years.
Nusrat Ghani MP, Conservative MP for Wealden in East Sussex since 2015 and current Minister of State for Industry in the Department for Business and Trade, gave a dynamic speech on the question of inclusion in maritime sector.
The President of WISTA UK, Monica Kohli, took the stand to announce the Woman and Man of the Year 2023, awarded for their exceptional dedication and advocacy for diversity and inclusion in the maritime industry.
WISTA-Hellas and WISTA International president Elpi Petraki was there too.
The award for WISTA UK Woman of the Year 2023 was presented to Petra Wilkinson CBE. Petra is Director of Maritime at the Department for Transport and has previously held posts in DFT Maritime in Operations, Strategy and Programmes, leading on LISW19 and on Port Connectivity. She has worked at DfT for 33 years in various roles within Roads, NATO’s Planning Board for Ocean Shipping, Private Office, HR, in Transport Security and in Maritime.
In her acceptance speech, Petra expressed how humbled and privileged she was to receive the award. She paid tribute to the excellent female leadership on the maritime side of the DfT.
The award for WISTA UK Man of the Year 2023 was presented to His Excellency Kitack Lim, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization. Mr Lim was elected Chair of IMO’s Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation in 2001 and of the Tokyo Memorandum on Port State Control in 2004. In 2006, he was appointed Director General of the Maritime Safety Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) and then as a Senior Maritime Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in London and led all IMO work for the Republic of Korea, serving as an Alternate Permanent Representative to IMO up to August 2009. Following that, he was re-appointed Director General for Maritime Safety Bureau (MLTM). In March 2011, Mr Lim was appointed Commissioner of the Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal (KMST). In July 2012, he assumed the position of President of Busan Port Authority, until January 2016 when he took up his appointment as Secretary-General of IMO.
Due to major official obligations, Mr Lim was unable to be present for the ceremony.
The beautiful evening concluded with nonstop summer drinks and a splendid buffet. All guests had the perfect opportunity to network, mingle with and be inspired by the most influential personalities in the UK maritime Industry.
