By David Owei
\nPort Harcourt, Nigeria \u2013 Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, Publisher of the Blue Economy Newsmagazine and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), has congratulated Professor Momoko Kitada on receiving the 2026 IMO Gender Equality Award. <\/p>\n
The award was conferred at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London during the commemoration of the International Day for Women in Maritime on May 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Thursday, Dr. Kiyaramo, who also serves as Special Assistant to the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), Port Harcourt, commended Prof. Kitada\u2019s decades of work advancing opportunities for women in shipping and maritime leadership as both a seafarer and academic.<\/p>\n
A former Senior Special Assistant to the Bayelsa State Government on Tourism, Dr. Kiyaramo said the IMO recognition reflects Prof. Kitada\u2019s long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity in maritime education and professional development, particularly for young professionals and future industry leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cProf. Momoko Kitada currently serves as Academic Dean, Full Professor, and Head of Maritime Education and Training at the World Maritime University (WMU),\u201d Dr. Kiyaramo noted. \u201cFor several years, she has integrated gender perspectives into maritime education, sustainability, innovation, digitalization, and leadership development.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that her work has focused on identifying structural barriers facing women in maritime and developing practical solutions to build a more inclusive industry.<\/p>\n
During the award ceremony, Prof. Kitada reflected on how her mother encouraged her to pursue education and economic independence from an early age, stressing that knowledge and genuine understanding are key to advancing gender equality.<\/p>\n
IMO, Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez praised Kitada\u2019s contribution, stating that her work has helped move gender balance \u201cfrom aspirational policy to actual practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Established in 2022, the IMO Gender Equality Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion in the maritime sector.<\/p>\n
The Philippines were also recognized at the event, with Commodore Christine Pauline Berga\u00f1o-Diciano, Ms. Elisa D. Chomi, and Rear Admiral Mitzie Silva-Campo receiving Letters of Commendation from the IMO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By David Owei Port Harcourt, Nigeria \u2013 Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, Publisher of the Blue Economy Newsmagazine and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), has congratulated Professor Momoko Kitada on receiving the 2026 IMO Gender Equality Award. The award was conferred at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London during the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13920,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13918\/revisions\/13920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}