The Third Extraordinary Session of the WMU Board of Governors (BOG) took place on 17 March and was hosted by the Government of the Republic of Turkey. WMU says the meeting was held in parallel with the International Maritime Summit marking the 70th anniversary of IMO.
The members of the Board were welcomed by HE Binali Yıldırım, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, who is a BOG member and also a 1991 alumnus and classmate of the IMO Secretary-General and WMU Chancellor, Mr. Kitack Lim. The Prime Minister noted that Turkey was delighted to mark the 35th Anniversary of WMU by hosting the Extraordinary BOG Session. In attendance as observers were HE Ismet Yilmaz, Minister of National Education and Mr Suat Aka, Undersecretary, Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications who are both 1990 alumni. HE Ahmet Arslan, the Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications also welcomed the Governors to the event.
The first point of discussion was a proposed research agenda for the University. Strengthening Maritime and Oceans Research is one of the eight strategic directions in the WMU Strategic Plan 2016-2019. In addition, the Business Plan 2018-2019 includes eight goals to be pursued in order to align WMU’s work even further with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and research will play a significant role in that regard. The Board went on to debate the role of WMU in developing global maritime leaders for the future, who would lead the response to the challenges and opportunities that are already developing.
The meeting was held in the magnificent Ciragan Palace Kempinski, which was originally built in the nineteenth century and was home to two Ottoman sultans. The Board of Governors usually meets annually. The members are appointed by the IMO Secretary-General, who also serves as Chancellor of WMU. The BOG consists of 30 members who each serve three-year renewable terms and three ex-officio members. The BOG reports to IMO Council which consists of the 40 leading maritime States.