Aden Wong of Drewry Maritime to speak at 2018 WISTA AGM and 4th year anniversary celebrations

Outgoing WISTA Committee

The Sri Lankan arm of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) will hold its AGM and annual conference on 13 July at the Jubilee Ballroom, Galle Face Hotel.

This year’s event will focus on achieving Sri Lanka’s potential, being the maritime centre for the Asian region. The keynote address of the event will be delivered by Aden Wong, who is a member of the port practice advisory team of Drewry Maritime Advisors, Singapore.

At the AGM, WISTA will be electing its new executive committee for the year 2018/19, whilst the 2017/18 committee, headed by Swabha Wickramasinghe, steps down from their official duties. Speaking about the past year, the outgoing WISTA President Swabha Wickramasinghe said: “The year that concluded was successful in many fronts as the membership grew by 35% compared to the previous year. The Association was also able to carry out many strategic and CSR projects, keeping in line with the WISTA objectives of raising the profile of women in the maritime sector and working for gender parity in an industry that’s still very male dominated.”

This year marks yet another milestone for WISTA Sri Lanka as it completes four years of outstanding presence in the local maritime industry. WISTA focuses on recognising women achievers from the industry and creating a forum to address industry related issues and make representations with relevant authorities in the maritime and logistics sectors. WISTA has been successful in breaking down gender barriers within the shipping and logistics industry over the years and encouraging more women to join this growing industry.

WISTA’s agenda bodes well for the Sri Lankan Government’s initiative to position the island nation as the logistics hub for the Asian region. Over the past financial year, the association has carried out several knowledge sharing initiatives and has also reached out to schools to promote an early interest in the shipping industry amongst the next generation, by arranging a career day for 100 school children.