Second group of Blue economy interns leave for Mauritius |08 January 2018

A group of 12 young people left last Friday for Mauritius where they will be embarking on the second phase of the second ‘Blue Economy internship programme’. 

The ‘Blue Economy internship programme’ was first launched by SYAH-Seychelles in 2016 with the goal of promoting youth engagement in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) mainly SDG 14 and 17. 

Through this programme, interested young people are placed on a two-week work placement at various institutions relating directly or indirectly to the blue economy. These include institutions such as the Seychelles Coast Guard and the British High Commission. After the two-week work placement the chosen interns attend a two-week educational trip to Mauritius.  

This year’s group of interns are aged between 15 and 27 and they will be spending a total of eight days in Mauritius where they will be joined by Mauritian youth. 

As part of this exchange trip, the young Seychellois will be visiting the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) headquarters, the University of Mauritius, the Mauritius Oceanography Institute and others. Through these visits the Blue economy interns are expected to learn more about the work done by these institutions in regards to the Blue economy. Apart from visits the interns will also take part in other activities including a mangrove snorkel with WISEOCEANS, glass bottom boat excursions and cultural exchange with Mauritian fellows.

This second ‘Blue Economy internship programme’ is yet another momentous moment for the SYAH-Seychelles as members from Seychelles and Mauritius will be meeting to brainstorm the second “#SeeingBlue” initiative, spurring from SYAH’s claim to the first prize of the Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award in 2016.

SYAH-Seychelles has thanked the individuals, organisations, friends and families that have sponsored the interns and shown interest to fund the second Blue economy internship. This year’s programme has been funded by the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, Indian Ocean Tuna Ltd and the Blue Economy department. The flights are discounted with the help of Air Seychelles.

To stay up to date with the Blue economy interns on their journeys, follow them on the Blue Economy Internship Facebook page: ‘Prosperity and Environment: Youth Opportunities in the Blue Economy’ where the 12 young Seychellois will be posting regular updates. Alternatively, there will be also updates using blogs on the SYAH-Seychelles website: syah-seychelles.weebly.com ( http://syah-seychelles.weebly.com/beblogs)