Part 1 of this paper first looked at a possible concept aimed at the fusion and acceleration of these developments by way of the Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative, designed to achieve that much needed traction and momentum in the field of maritime education. In Part 2 the paper highlights some of the developments set in motion in the area of structuring and linking maritime education. It then advocates a precursor pilot scheme, a vehicle for preliminary assessment of the viability of the envisaged Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative concept. It concludes by suggesting that the aforementioned pilot project, initially hosted by one, possibly two African universities, and in tandem with a comprehensive feasibility study, will contribute to accelerating the realisation of coherent programmes and policies necessary to mainstream both maritime education and security development in Africa’s littoral, riverine and Great Lakes regions. In this way, this Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative will make its contribution to combating the many and different unlawful, illicit maritime activities that pester the African continent, and which deny most coastal nations their rightful and much needed revenues.

Turning the roadmap towards reality – critical enablers for the pilot phase

As alluded to in the introduction, and in order to assess the feasibility and all the associated (and second and third order) implications and requirements necessary to lend credibility to the Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative, the authors believe there is merit to conducting a bespoke pilot project first. The envisaged concept for this would entail a host university offering its facilities and services, such as administrative and information technology (IT) support, to host and support the pilot organisation. This pilot organisation would comprise two interrelated structures: a so-called International Secretariat and a Human Resources Management (HRM) team. The International Secretariat would be responsible for promoting the concept and the underlying ‘design’, the daily management of the objectives set for the pilot, accountability and external relations with ministries and knowledge institutes within the selected African cooperative region (e.g. ECOWAS, ECCAS, SADC, EAC) where the university is located. See Figure 3.

Figure 3. Pilot project at a host university.⁽²⁾

Initially, an interim pilot organisation with an initial staff of about five, and perhaps a similar number of interns may suffice. In particular, as stated earlier, this team would be responsible for what in military planning terms is called Design: the blueprint for turning the vision, or rather the evolving vision, into reality. Design would encompass aspects such as (making recommendations for) improving the existing hardware - IT systems, libraries, etc., the research capacity, such as PhDs and curriculum development bespoke to market needs, collaboration with other scholars, facilitating and lobbying for exchanges with international industry, use of simulation training aids, and creating institutional links and broadening existing networks. During the pilot phase specific emphasis would be placed on mapping the conceptual challenges, risks and risk sharing arrangements, national regulatory frameworks, sectoral partnerships, identifying skill gaps, reform proposals of the ‘enabling environment’, and defining the criteria for monitoring, measuring and evaluating the quantifiable impacts⁽³⁾ of the envisaged Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative. And not in the least, this team – by way of a bespoke visits programme – would actively assist in establishing and nurturing a critical mass of young maritime professionals who aspire towards a successful and rewarding maritime career.

The second structure would be the HRM-team whose core responsibility would be to career and talent manage those maritime professionals that are known to have undergone formal maritime education, subsequent mandatory courses and training at accredited knowledge centres, in their own country and abroad. This group of maritime professionals needs to be registered in a bespoke database. This dynamic – perhaps even ‘hard-nosed’ – HRM-team would proactively advise and mediate which courses and training would be required for career advancement. They would nominate individuals – arguably by way of a de facto bottom-up approach – for mandatory refresher training, something so often overlooked with regards to perishable skill-sets. During the pilot phase, the HRM-team would tease out and chart the various national policies and traditions for career management, salary, insurance and pension schemes etc.   

The third critical enabler is the establishment of a Knowledge Portal: a web-based repository that hosts dedicated pages with resources from a wide range of agencies of immediate relevance to those employed in areas and sectors that have a day-to-day relation with the maritime safety and security, port operations, maritime law, etc. This portal is to mature into a tool which demonstrates that it supports, sustains and grows the maritime education higher learning centres, and thus by implication, the maritime sectors as a whole as well.

The fourth critical enabler, which should not come as a surprise, is top-level support and an advocacy role by the African Union Commission and the European Commission.⁽⁴⁾ Both are well placed to reach out to the many stakeholders who depend on a safe and secure maritime environment, provide funding support and lobby for additional funding streams, scholarships and other means of direct, or indirect, support to the pilot organisation. The final critical enabler is the actual sourcing of dedicated professionals who will staff the International Secretariat and HRM-unit during the pilot phase.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the Department of Security Management Studies of the University of Stellenbosch Business School has indicated that they are prepared to be considered as a potential institution to host the pilot phase to assess the feasibility of establishing a full-time, regional ‘International Secretariat’ and ‘HRM – Team’. A brainstorm session to analyse the mentioned critical enablers and tease out most implications is tentatively scheduled for early 2013.

Conclusion - nil desperandum!

Over the last decade the growing demand from Asia, especially India and China, has increasingly impacted how African governments look at oil and gas export markets. Africa’s political leadership needs to show a shared, coherent vision, strategic clarity and foresight; and act determinedly by using these resources to enhance regional infrastructures and further diversifying their respective economies. The political leadership must pledge their shared interest in combating illegal activities in the maritime domain, coupled to an imaginative thought process, translated through a pro-active, appealing narrative that encourages young people to get involved in the maritime sectors. The political leadership must recognise that investments in education are key drivers to reducing poverty and creating globally competitive economies.⁽⁵⁾ Above all, it must ensure a stable, secure maritime environment where resource extraction industries will be able to work in a safe and responsible manner. All this requires African oversight, and therefore a pan-African investment in African human capital. The latter, for all intents and purposes, means daring to make choices; it means long-term vision and master-planning by enlightened, engaged policy and decision makers.

Whilst not fully explored in this article, civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector (small-and-medium-sized enterprises, multinationals and entrepreneurs),⁽⁶⁾ the international maritime and associated industries and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) can – and hopefully are  prepared to – play a vital role by looking for alternative and innovative ways to contribute to maritime education and awareness programmes. Whether by providing general funding and grants, supporting the building of bespoke infrastructures, hosting conferences, conducting specific training courses,⁽⁷⁾ sponsoring scholarships, or leasing – with the option to buy – bespoke patrol vessels for sea training purposes, it means getting the right partners to the table and it means taking calculated risks where the first ‘returns on investment’ may take a longer period to emerge.

The Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative and the proposed pilot project are not meant to challenge national ‘sovereignty’ in terms of organising and staffing the respective national maritime sectors. The pilot organisation is to seek maximum engagement with pertinent stakeholders, and must strive for synergy with other education programmes and initiatives. They must take into account national sensitivities, and build on what has been achieved to date. To all intents and purposes, this pilot is a comprehensive mapping exercise that needs to stake out as many issues at the earliest stage. It will start off synthesising the questions that need to be addressed, and defining the preferred mandate within it needs to be able to operate effectively. In the view of the authors, these are aspects that need to be addressed prior to the full launch and the realisation in earnest of a pan-African Maritime Education and Awareness Programme.

Plenty of patience and sustained engagement to drive forward a sustainable transition certainly spring to mind, striking a fair balance between modesty and ambition. But let’s ‘dream big’; success requires working with implementers! It is the hope of the authors that all the issues discussed in this paper will not be relegated to a much lower priority whilst most eyes are distracted by the significant flashpoints that feature on the African events calendar for 2013.

Written by Marco Hekkens ⁽¹⁾ and Suzanne Visschedijk ⁽¹⁾

NOTES:

(1) Contact Marco Hekkens and Suzanne Visschedijk through Consultancy Africa Intelligence's Africa Watch Unit ( conflict.terrorism@consultancyafrica.com). This paper was developed with the assistance of Denine Walters and edited by Nicky Berg.
(2) Compiled by the author (Hekkens, M.J.M.S.), presentation delivered during the Maritime Security Roundtable Seminar, Brussels, 29 November 2012, http://maritime.parlicentre.org.
(3) ‘Measuring and reporting results - The DCED standard’, Donor committee for enterprise development  http://www.enterprise-development.org.
(4) See in particular the European Commission’s 'Agenda for Change' and reform proposals for EU budget support, setting out a more strategic EU approach to reducing poverty, including a more targeted allocation of funding, 13 October 2011, http://ec.europa.eu.
(5) Vines, A., ‘From Sea to Shining Sea? Africa’s Expanding Energy Landscape’, Oxford Energy Forum Journal, November 2012, http://www.chathamhouse.org.
(6) The author (Hekkens, M.J.M.S.) participated in a workshop titled "Engaging the Private Sector for Development: Measuring Impact" organised by the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED), the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Traidcraft and BUSINESSEUROPE, held in Brussels on 13 Dec 2012. The results of this workshop, once promulgated, will be addressed in a next article of this series; see also http://ec.europa.eu.
(7) ‘Aid for trade – Delivering on EU Commitments’, European Commission, 18 November 2011, http://ec.europa.eu.