Almost 5 years after the first marine activities started in Mozambique, with over 13 million USD gathered, 14 active grants, and 15 staff members, it was time for WCS’s marine program team to sit together, analyze the achievements, and start planning the strategy for the next 5 years.
After inspiring words from Afonso Madope, WCS Mozambique’s country director, the first day focused on getting to know each other better with several fun activities, such as the innovative shark family dance! It was also time for each sub-team (sharks & rays, corals, MPAs, small-scale fisheries, COMBO, KBAs/SBAPP) to present their work. Hugo Costa, the Marine Program Director for Mozambique provided an insight into how the marine activities were strategized from the outset of the program, the work conducted, and the main achievements so far.
The team also had 2 online inspiring sessions, provided by Jennifer O’Leary, Regional Marine Program Director, Pamela Castillo, Marine 30x30 Director, Jada Trullo, Program Manager for Small-scale Fisheries and Dana Tricarico, Program Manager for sharks & rays. The objective was to inform and inspire the Mozambican team about WCS’s global marine priorities and work being conducted. The first day finished with a team dinner, where each member anonymously wrote down aspects to improve within the Mozambique Marine Program.
The second day started with presentations from the HR Manager, Orlanda Manhiça, the Financial Manager, Cremilda José, and the Communications Manager, Francisco Cabo, on each of their components. The most relevant issues and improvement actions were discussed. The team proceeded with a discussion on finding solutions to the aspects that were identified on the previous day. The session was very productive, and the solutions were written down for implementation in the short-term.
The rest of the second day was focused on identifying the components of the upcoming 5-year strategy. This was done by making sure it aligns with the country’s priorities and WCS’s regional and global marine strategy. The team was divided into groups and an action plan was developed. It was defined that the proposed strategy should be ready for approval by October 2023.
The event ended with the Mozambican Marine Program “Shark Family Dance”! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBTVpZUfj7k)
The activity was very positive and fruitful, and the team is well prepared and committed to a bright blue future in Mozambique!
The Mozambican team that participated in the workshop was:
- Sharks and Rays Team: Jorge Sitoe, Naseeba Sidat and Rosalina Cossa
- Coral reef team: Erwan Sola (online)
- MPA team: Muaule Chuluma
- Blue Future team: Carlos Meirinhos, Delson Vutane, Manuel Nazaré, Clinton Mavila and Ibrahimo Lufa
- COMBO/NoCaMo team: Eleutério Duarte and Ivan Nerantzoulis
- KBAs / SBAPP team: Acácio Chechene
- Marine Director: Hugo Costa
- Country Director: Afonso Madope
- HR Manager: Orlanda Manhiça
- Grants Manager: Cremilda José
- Communications Manager: Francisco Cabo