Cebu 2005 Filipino Seafarers’ Family Caregivers Mini-Conference on Setting the Agenda for the Empowerment of Seafarers’ Families and their Organizations
SETTING THE AGENDA
FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF SEAFARERS’ FAMILIES AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS
(Pagsabot- sabot sa pama-agi aron mouswag ang pundok sa mga marinong pamilya sa Visayas)
FILIPINO SEAFARERS’ FAMILY CAREGIVERS MINI-CONFERENCE ( CEBU )
25-26 February 2005
Tubod Flowing Water Resort
Minglanilla, Cebu, Philippines
PRESS RELEASE
26 February 2005
Leaders of the sea-based OFW community and representatives of seafarers’ families associations in the Visayas gathered for a pioneering convocation at the Tubod Flowing Water Resort in Minglanilla, Cebu on 25-26 February.
Meeting on the theme “Setting the agenda for the empowerment of seafarers’ families and their organizations” (Pagsabot- sabot sa pama-agi aron mouswag ang pundok sa mga marinong pamilya sa Visayas), the convocation considered various pressing issues and concerns of seafarers’ families in the region. These included support for the maritime profession, protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of sea-based OFWs, health care for seafarers families, investments and economic opportunities for seafarers’ family coooperatives and organizations, and capacity-building and networking for these organizations. Delegates explored in-depth their organizations’ evolving capabilities and they shared numerous ideas on how to realize their “SMART” goals and projects (“specific”, “measurable”, “achievable”, “realistic” and “time-bound”).
Also participating in the meeting were government representatives from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Department of Trade and Indutstry (DTI), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The meeting was the first of its kind in the country. The participants enthusiastically and unanimously endorsed a follow-up conference to take place in the near future. According to event coordinator, Mrs. Lourdes Ceniza of the Seafarers Family Caregivers Association of the Philippines, Inc., the convocation served as an unprecedented first-step for seafarers families to come together and develop a common ground for mutual encouragement and cooperation.
The majority of Filipino seafarers deployed abroad who crew the world’s merchant fleets hail from the Visayas.
Filipino seafarers and their families have a real stake in defining their own social empowerment agenda as the country moves to supply more maritime labor to meet international demands. They can also look forward to favorable policy developments on the global stage. For example, next year in 2006, the International Labour Organization will adopt a historic Magna Carta for international seafarers, a giant step to enforce international standards concerning working and living conditions of Filipino seafarers wherever they are.
The mini-conference was convened by the Seafarers Family Caregivers Association of the Philippines, Inc. and the Rotterdam-based Philippine Seafarers Assistance Programme, a foundation in the Netherlands that has been extending welfare and other services to Filipino seafarers for the past 25 years.
The initiative was financially supported by Novib-Oxfam Netherlands.
Filipino Seafarers’ Family Caregivers Mini-Conference Group Photo
FSFCA President Lourdes Ceniza and some of the participants
Filipino Seafarers’ Family Caregivers Mini-conference in Cebu, Philippines
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