World Maritime Day
World Maritime Day (WMD) is an annual celebration founded by the United Nations (UN) in
collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which rejoices the contribution that
the maritime industry makes towards the world’s overall economy. Every year it is celebrated to
highlight the contributions of the International Maritime Industry in the world’s economy and to
emphasis on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment.
Maritime industry is important, because without the international transportation of goods, world’s
economy would be unable to function. WMD was first held on March 17 th, 1978 to mark the 20th
anniversary of the IMOs entry into force in 1958. The IMO has expanded from the original 21 member
countries to 167 and it now all major nations who are involved in the maritime industry are part of it.
Every member state celebrates this day in their own way. The theme of WMD 2021 is chose by
International Maritime Organization, which will be “Seafarers: At the Core of Shipping’s Future”. The
major focus of this is to upsurge awareness of the invaluable work that seafarers do to keep the
worldwide economy afloat. On account of COVID-19 Pandemic, which has presented many challenges to
seafarers, this year, recognition is more deserved than ever before. World Maritime Day 2021 will aim to
shine a light on the issues which are still afflicting many seafarers across the globe. Secretary General
Antonio Guterres messaged on this day as “I renew my appeal to Governments to address their plight by
formally designating seafarers and other marine personnel as “key workers”, ensuring safe crew
changes, implementing established protocols, and allowing stranded seafarers to be repatriated and
others to join ships.” Similarly, on this important day, Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff said, “we pledge to
make concerted efforts for the sustainable development of the maritime sector in Pakistan while
addressing the associated challenges. In this regard, I look forward to a profound and cumulative
response by all stakeholders.
Unemployment in educated youth of Pakistan.
Unemployment is not a novel topic; Pakistan is facing this issue since its inception. Due to the covid
pandemic, almost all states of the world including major powers are facing the problem of
Unemployment. According to the report of the Economic Survey of 2020-21, before Covid-19, the
working population was 55.7 million globally. During the pandemic, this number declined to 35.04
million which indicates that 20.71 million people either lost their jobs or were not able to work. On 27th
September 2021, The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on Monday highlighted a grim
picture of the rising rate of unemployment across the country, in its briefing to the Standing Committee
on Planning and Development underlining that 24 percent of educated people are jobless at the
moment. Now, the question arises as, why the ratio of unemployment in educated youth of Pakistan is
increasing. PIDE in his report clarified the term educated that it here refers to those people who have
acquired an undergraduate or graduate degree, which should enable them to find a job. A recent
example is the applicants for the post of Tehsildar in the Punjab public service commission, where more
than one million candidates from Punjab applied for 58 posts. This is the condition of one province of
Pakistan; the rest are not different from that. Another case is the position of peons in a high court that
was advertised recently. 1.5m people including M.Phil degree holders applied for a peon’s job.
Currently, the main reason for unemployment is the pandemic. Covid has badly affected the
employment sector of Pakistan due to the suspension of economic activities and lock-downs. In the
contemporary era, it is an alarming issue Pakistan is dealing with. The Government of Pakistan is
working seriously on this issue. But the dire need is to create new jobs for the educated youth of
Pakistan. The delay of employment should be changed to a faster one.
