SocPro4Fish Updates | Learnings

2023

CIHEAM BARI  - Advanced Specialized Course in Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities on Social Security in fisheries.

ITALY

The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies of Bari (CIHEAM BARI)  launched a new high-level specialized Training Programme in collaboration with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean),  funded by the Italian Cooperation. As part of this program , the SocPro4Fish project conducted a two-day workshop on social protection for the fisheries sector.

INVEMAR & FAO- Empowering Artisanal Fish Farmers:Training in Financial Management and Revolving Funds

COLOMBIA

As part of the SocPro4Fish project, INVEMAR and FAO organized two workshops on financial management and revolving funds for 27 artisanal fish farmers. The workshops aimed to strengthen their capacities and were held in El Dorado, Meta, and El Corozo, Córdoba. Participants learned about market functioning, budgeting, cash flow, profitability, and revolving funds. These sessions also highlighted how associations manage collective resources to support each other. The workshops were based on the identified needs of the fish farming associations, and the insights gathered will be shared in territorial roundtables and the National GIPRO meeting in May 2023.

2022

ITC-ILO-social protection in rural areas: building responsive systems in the context of covid19

ONLINE

Under the organization of the International Training Centre of the ILO (International Labour Organisation), FAO has provided an introductory session on Responsive Social Protection Systems in the fisheries sector for two consecutive years. The module covers the rationale for the necessity of responsive social protection systems in the sector, addressing the mismatch between the typology of shocks in the sector, fishers’ vulnerabilities, and their adaptive capacity.

FAO & CERMES (UWI) - Addressing the climate change and poverty nexus

ONLINE - self-paced version currently active

In collaboration with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) and the Global Institute for Climate-Smart and Resilient Development (GICSRD) of The University of the West Indies (UWI), this course was designed to provide support to local leaders,  sectoral organizations, policymakers, and others working in coastal communities and with small-scale fisheries. It equips them with practical tools and approaches to address the  interconnected challenges of climate change and poverty.  The course integrates multiple disciplines and policy areas, offering tools to facilitate the design of targeted, location-specific approaches that are responsive to shocks and sensitive to gender considerations.The pilot version was conducted  from May to June 2022, with the participation of  55 invited participants from 13 Caribbean countries.

A free self-paced version, jointly certified by FAO and UWI, was launched at the COP 27 Virtual Ocean Pavilion in 2022 and is now available online here.

GFCM - GFCM-Lex Training

SPAIN

The regional training held in Malaga, under the leadership of Mr. Ziad Samaha and facilitated by the GFCM Secretariat, brought together 45 participants from diverse countries to address critical fisheries management issues. The training sessions included a module on social protection systems, were social protection's rationale for the fisheries sector was explained, as well as the SocPro4Fish database. In addition, the participants worked on identifying the social protection policies available in their countries, followed by an exercise on the barriers of access and implementation to social protection by fishers (e.g. legal barriers, financial barriers, institutional and administrative barriers) existing in their countries.

Overall, the training underscored the significance of legislation and collaborative efforts, highlighting the central role of GFCM-Lex as a repository for legislative information. Ultimately, the training promoted knowledge sharing, collaboration, and the advancement of cohesive regional legislation.

GFCM - Social protection for small-scale fisheries training session

ITALY

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) convened a regional training session on small-scale fisheries (SSF) and social protection in Tricase, Italy, in a hybrid format. The session engaged 14 participants from six countries and featured ten speakers. The course aimed to explain the concept of social protection, its functions, and how to establish or expand existing social protection programmes in the SSF sector. Furthermore, it encouraged  participants to identify the social protection programmes available for SSF in their respective countries and to provide guidance on  expanding them based on the knowledge acquired.