66 DECEMBER 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG with the understanding that each region is unique in the way its aquaculture sector operates. But we had to find commonalities and instruments that bind the continent together for the advancement of aquaculture. This is a long-term process. And then the disruptive elements of the Covid pandemic happened during my tenure as President. It was especially disruptive during the organisation of AFRAQ21 in Egypt, as we were unsure whether the event was to go ahead. We had to postpone the event twice. Being a first AFRAQ in Africa, there were several other organisational and hosting challenges that we faced along the way. The other chronic challenge that we still face today is the language barrier. Africa has large blocks of Anglophone, Francophone and Arabic speaking countries. It also has growing Portuguese and Swahili speaking populations. Getting everyone to effectively communicate with each other in a seamless manner has been an ongoing challenge. Technically, Africa’s aquaculture landscape is largely characterized by small scale commercial operators, but bigger, industrial scale operations are proliferating in several countries. Addressing the special needs of these two distinct subsectors has often required a careful approach that leaves no-one feeling left behind. There are of course numerous other challenges to the general development of aquaculture in Africa. What was the experience like of being the conference coordinator and co-Chair for the first Aquaculture Africa 2021 Conference (AFRAQ21, Egypt). To be honest, being at the helm of coordinating and chairing such a large-scale conference was not an easy undertaking. It required strong commitment and dedication. I had sleepless nights trying to get things done under tight deadlines, especially the last-minute logistical aspects to bring a large number of people to Egypt. Everything has to be done to the premium WAS standard of conferencing and exposition, to ensure that an attendee would want to come back to a future AFRAQ again. It was undoubtedly a great learning experience also. But in the end, I was comforted and enthralled to have seen over 1700 attendees from around the world (mostly from Africa) converged in Alexandria during the conference days. In fact, as you may recall, it was one of the major WAS conferences that pulled people from the hard lockdowns of the Covid pandemic. In addition to my leadership role in Chairing the event, its plenary and other side-meetings, my company, Aquaculture Consultant Office (ACO), also exhibited at AFRAQ21. All these networking opportunities and engaging experiences indeed raised the bar for my profession. During the Conference, the visible connection between Egyptian aquaculture entities with their fellow African and global entities was enthralling, as it fulfilled one of my aspirations of seeing a north-south co-operation platform developing and bearing fruit. To this day, many aquaculture actors and institutions from Sub-Saharan African are making their way to Egypt for learning and other expositions. It was good to see many AFRAQ21 attendees visiting the touristic sites of Egypt, as I believe this brought additional economic benefits to the country. Out of your great efforts in leading the establishment of the WAS-AC, Co-chairing the AFRAQ21 in Egypt and other leadership roles in aquaculture - the WAS recognised you with an EXEMPLARY HONORARY SERVICE AWARD, presented during the Opening Ceremony of the AFRAQ23 in Zambia. How would you describe that moment? That was a rare, mesmerising moment! To be honoured on this global stage, by the WAS membership at large, with the special plaque handed over by a very high-level state figure - the Zambian Minister of Fisheries and Livestock (Hon. Makozo Chikote), flanked by renowned global aquaculture figures, and witnessed by a very large audience of over 1000 during that plenary session, was life-changing. I must however highlight that the positive achievements during my tenure were a product of teamwork and collaboration with various parties — and I bestow this award to my Chapter Board of Directors (whom I worked with during my term), the support from EgAS, the WAS capacity-building dispensations and to all those who played a role in many of our achievements. What roles are you playing these days in serving the development of the aquaculture sector in Egypt and reaching out to Africa? I am the Founder and Creator of the Aquaculture Consultant Office (ACO) in Egypt, which specialises in business development consultancies in warmwater aquaculture and the supply of aquaculture Dr. Sadek points out that the high costs of aquafeeds, marine seeds, energy and other overhead present problems for the Egyptian aquaculture sector. The WAS recognized Dr. Sadek with the Exemplary Honorary Service Award at AFRAQ23.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjExNDY=