Dr Cornelia Nauen delivers Prof. Stella Williams’ acceptance address to IIFET-2016 on the award of the IIFET 2016 Distinguished Service Award. Photo: IIFET
The 2016 biennial Conference of the International Institution of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET) (11-15 July, Aberdeen UK), recognized Professor Stella Williams’ by awarding her with its 2016 Distinguished Service Award (DSA).
The DSA announcement said that “Professor Stella Williams embodies IIFET’s goals of fostering global interaction between academia, trade, and government on the economics of fisheries policy and seafood trade. She has made significant contributions enabling individuals of different professional orientations and countries to exchange information, data, and perspectives on fisheries issues. Because she has devoted her long and productive professional career, as well as her personal energy, to building bridges between academia and governments, farmers, and fishers, to foster better research, collaboration, policy and equity, with a special focus on gender equity, Dr. Williams was selected as the recipient of this year’s IIFET Distinguished Service Award.” [To read Professor Williams inspiring speech, click here, and to see more on Professor’s Williams work on gender in fisheries, click here.]
Dr Cornelia Nauen delivers Prof. Stella Williams’ acceptance address to IIFET-2016 on the award of the IIFET 2016 Distinguished Service Award. As Professor Williams was not able to attend IIFET, her acceptance address was delivered beautifully on her behalf by Dr Cornelia Nauen, the President of Mundus Maris. Professor Williams is the also the Vice-President of Mundus Maris. [See also the following links from Mundus Maris on IIFET-2016 and Prof Williams: Pic of the Month, and IIFET-2016.]
Congratulations, Stella, on the DSA, and thank you for all your commitment and untiring service
Following the gradual strengthening of gender research presentations in IIFET over the years (e.g., see IIFET-2012 report) IIFET-2016 also saw an increase in the exposure of gender research as judged by the papers presented. A Special Session (Gender Research as a New Frontier in Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics) was held over two normal conference sessions, plus a session on gender in the main conferences sessions, and several individual papers on gender in other sessions. In total, about 15 papers and a panel specifically addressed gender. An overview report will be made available in the near future.
A group of presenters and participants at the end of the Gender Special Session at IIFET-2016, 13 July 2016, Aberdeen. Photo: IIFET.
The Special Session and other gender highlights were supported by grant funds from the USA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Fisheries) and the World Bank, for which IIFET is very grateful.
The support included the the selection by an expert panel of the inaugural Rosemary Firth Award, made possible by NOAA’s grant. This inaugural award was granted for the best gender presentation, but IIFET envisages that in future the award will be for best paper.
On the prize podium (L-R)- Chikondi Manyungwa (Rosemary Firth Prize winner), Dan Holland (IIFET President) and Zahra Izzaturrahim (Highly Commended presentation) from the gender sessions at IIFET-2016. Photo: IIFET
Chikondi Manyungwa (Department of Fisheries, Lilongwe, Malawi) won the inaugural Rosemary Firth Award for her presentation, “An investigation of women participation in fish value chains and value chain governance in Malawi: a case of Msaka on Lake Malawi and Kachulu on Lake Chilwa.”
IIFET also decided to make a Highly Commended Zahrah Izzaturrahim, Department of Anthropology, University of Diporegoro, Semarang, Indonesia for her presentation “Measuring the role of women in fisheries: A Case from Tambak Lorok, Central Jawa, Indonesia.”
It was very pleasing to see how strongly participants and presenters were engaged in the discussion and questions during the sessions and at social events.