Students enhance knowledge about the Blue Economy |19 February 2018

Forty young minds have successfully completed the second Blue Economy Internship and the Blue Economy Youth programme.

The participants were rewarded with certificates during the weekend in a small ceremony held at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE) auditorium.

The second such programme was launched to commemorate World Ocean Day and was supported by Thai Union, the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) and the Government of Seychelles. Forty young people were offered the opportunity to obtain hands on experience of working in organisations related to the Blue Economy.

The Sids Youth Aims Hub (SYAH), the mastermind behind the programme, seeks to revolutionise the career guidance provided from one of talks or what is seen in movies to real life experiences in the field and advice from people working in such fields.

Present at the ceremony were Vice-President Vincent Meriton, the principal secretary (PS) in the Blue Economy department Rose-Marie Bargain, the manager of WiseOceans Seychelles Ben Taylor, the President of SYAH Kalsey Belle, Blue Economy  interns, among other guests.

PS Bargain stated that such programme will allow the students to discover more about the benefits of the Blue Economy.

“Seychelles has benefited from the Blue Economy for the past years; today our ocean is facing many challenges such as climate change. Our country has been a strong advocate of the Blue Economy, and working together we will be able to gather more knowledge on such important subject,” she said.

The programme provides young people with the opportunity to get hands on experience in different organisations for two weeks in Seychelles.

VP Meriton also shared his opinion on such important programme for our economy.

“The youths are our future, but such project means a lot of research, they will need better access to finance. Overseas organisations can also join the fight and enhance their knowledge about the Blue Economy,” he said.

Following their time with the organisations in Seychelles and completing certain essential tasks for successful completion of the programme, 12 outstanding participants went to Mauritius to follow an intensive ten-day programme learning about the different organisations in Mauritius as well as substantial issues relating to the ocean such as mariculture, ocean conservation and the fishing regulators.

At the end of the programme the young people have gained an enriched experience, certificate of recognition, letter of recommendation and an invaluable network of Blue Economy professionals and peers.

Among the sponsors who have contributed to such programme are the James Michel Foundation, SCAA, Four seasons Resort Seychelles, Thai Union.