The Maritime Security Programme within the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) recently organised a two-day seminar on the Public/Private Dimension of Maritime Security.
The event, which was organised in cooperation with the Security Institute for Leadership and Governance in Africa (SIGLA) and the Military Academy of Stellenbosch University welcomed representatives of the South African government, international organisations, the maritime industry, private security companies and universities.
Attendees discussed maritime threats as including piracy and sea robbery, illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking of persons and illegal goods, and dumping.
The seminar coincided with the signing of an MoU between Coventry University and Stellenbosch University and provided a good opportunity for both VC’s: John Latham and Wim de Villiers to see how the cooperation between both universities in put into practice by CTPSR’s Maritime Security Programme.
The seminar reflects the longstanding collaboration between maritime security experts in CTPSR and their counterparts in Stellenbosch.
CTPSR’s Maritime Security Programme is not only unique in its focus, but also in is ability to bring public and private sectors together, and partner with such organisation as the International Organization for Migration for innovative research projects on the role of coastal communities in maritime security.
At the seminar, the following topics were discussed: the public-private governance of maritime security; maritime crimes, coastal community involvement, inter-agency cooperation and capacity building. These issues are at the heart of CTPSR’s maritime security research and form the building block of its impact case study, which is one of the IMPAKT-SS case studies that has received financial support from the University.