Why Liveaboard Diving? 

Speaker:

Mark Brodersen [USA]
During my OW and AOW course which I completed in Bali in 1998-1999 I fell in love with diving, the country of Indonesia, and knew that I wanted to be involved in the dive industry here in some way. It took a few years and in 2006 I made the move to Bali getting my IDC Staff instructor as well as Tec Instructor ratings. 7yrs ago, a friend brought me onboard for a Bali-Komodo-Bali itinerary and that’s when I became hooked on the liveaboard experience

Monthly DiveTraining Session
De-Compression Diving

Speaker:

Vincent Lai [Malaysia]
Vincent Lai is a Malaysian Recreational Instructor Trainer and Technical Instructor. Starting relatively early, 2022 is his 11th year working in the dive industry. He currently runs Scuba Attitude, an Instructor Training Center based in Kuala Lumpur.
Besides teaching, he spent time working in a Hyberbaric Chamber in Phuket, and commercial related works in Tarbela Dam, Pakistan. Vincent also worked with dive centers in conducting seminars regarding dive safety awareness, to dive operators and instructors alike.

Monthly Animal Behaviour Session
Blue Whale

Speaker:

Amos Nachoum [USA]
Amos has been a wildlife photographer and expedition leader for over 35 years, filming marine giants across all the world’s oceans, from Antarctica to the High Arctic. His images have appeared in over 500 magazines around the world. He has twice won in the Behaviour category of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the world’s largest and most prestigious wildlife photography competition.

Monthly BlueGreen360 Session
The Importance of Shark Education: Kids Can Save Sharks

Speaker:

Jillian Morris [USA]
Born and raised in Maine, Jillian’s love for the ocean started at an early age and has continued to play an integral role in her adult life. She has spent thousands of hours in the field working and diving with sharks across the globe. She is a marine biologist, shark conservationist, educator and the founder of Sharks4Kids. She has filmed for numerous television shows and networks, has appeared on Shark Week and is a PADI Ambassadiver. She was named Scuba Diving Magazine’s July 2016 Sea Hero , awarded the inaugural Shark Con Shark Hero Award in 2017 and was the Go Blue Awards 2020 Blue Ambassador of the Year. She is the author of Norman the Nurse Shark and Shark Super Powers and a member of the prestigious Ocean Artists Society.

In-Conversation with David Strike Session: Mixing It Up with Marc Crane

Speaker:

Marc Crane [Indonesia]
Living and working in Bali, Indonesia, Marc Crane has logged thousands of hours on various rebreathers and is an International Training Director for SSI XR, and an Instructor Trainer for TDI holding the qualifications of Hypoxic Trimix and Advanced Mixed Gas Instructor Trainer in both Open Circuit and CCR.

An avid wreck and cave diver he has explored and discovered some of Indonesia’s lesser known areas and as chief diving safety officer for Unseen Expeditions is responsible for all aspects of diving safety for research projects in the twilight zone.

Moderator:
David Strike [Australia] ADEX Ambassador for Technical Diving, Pioneer & Fellow of The Explorers Club
A former Instructor Trainer and Certifier with a background in Military, Commercial, Recreational and Technical Diving, David has authored several hundred dive-related articles. The ADEX Ambassador for Technical Diving, Pioneer, he is a recipient of the ADEX Lifetime Achievement Award and a Fellow of The Explorers Club of New York.

Monthly Dive Etiquettes Session
The origins of Divers Behaviour

Speaker:

Claudio Di Manao [Italy]
Claudio Di Manao is an Italian diving instructor and dive guide with a worldwide diving experience. He worked in Sharm el Sheikh, in the Cayman Islands, UK, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Zanzibar. He authored six published books and is an AlertDiver.eu. contributor. As columnist for Italian and Swiss-Italian magazines and newspapers he is focused on the marine environment. His first book, Shamandura Generation, depicts the Sharm el Sheikh’s diving community life-style in a humorous way and has been translated into English.

Claudio di Manao is PADI MSTD, IANTD Eanx Instructor, hyperbaric tender, and a science communicator.

Special Blue/Green Sabah Revival

Speaker:

Simon Christopher [United Kingdom / Malaysia]
Simon is a Sabah/Malaysia-based zoologist deeply committed to communicating the critical importance of biodiversity to as many people as possible worldwide. Having founded Scubazoo.tv and TimorBlue after more than two and half decades with more than 180 documentary programmes from BBC Natural History blockbusters such as Blue Planet II, LIFE, Human Planet – Oceans and Big Blue – Live, to hit reality shows like Survivor, Amazing Race and Man vs Wild, IMAX films like Sacred Planet and Conquest of the Skies, 3D – plus seven large format coffee-table book publications under his belt, Simon is excited to be launching BLU HOPE alongside UNESCO Ocean Decade.

Ting Wai Kit [Malaysia]
Wai Kit is a year 2 Geography major in the University Scholars Programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He has worked closely with the National Parks Board and has just started interning with them! He believes in doing his best for the environmental scene as a member of the management team for Singapore Youth for Climate Action and Co-President of NUS Students Against Violation of the Earth. He also plans on starting a nature guiding company that provides affordable and sustainable guided tours whilst compensating guides above market rate, and supporting aspiring youths in the environmental scene.

Hazel Oakley [United Kingdom]
Hazel is the Managing Director of TRACC, an award winning marine conservation organization based in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Their principal occupation is restoration of the reef destroyed by bomb fishing and conservation of the nesting turtle population. They beach clean daily and the never ending supply of plastic waste into the sea is a massive concern.

Leonard Alaza [Malaysia]
Leonard Alaza is an award winning journalist who has been in the industry for 30 years. He has worked for four Sabah-based daily newspapers and is currently a co-founder of Borneo Pulse, a non-profit online storytelling platform that aims to make news and contents relating to sustainable development and living, conservation, the environment, wildlife protection, sustainable innovations and community empowerment as “front page material” that would inspire as many people into taking action. He believes that it is time for people to consume information relating to these global concerns as stories that matter most to their brief existence on this planet.

He is also a UN Indigenous Fellow in Geneva, Switzerland for his activism in Indigenous Peoples rights and is an author of a number of books.

Leonard is passionate about social entrepreneurship where has set up a small workshop in his village that turns wastes into income opportunities for the poor.

Dr Henry Chan [Malaysia]
Dr. Henry Chan is the Conservation Director for WWF-Malaysia. Leading the mission to “build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature,” his responsibilities cover Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak as well as marine programmes spanning the whole country. The conservation programmes span Wildlife, Forest and Protected Areas, Freshwater, as well as Policy and Climate Change, Education for Sustainable Development, Community Engagement and Education, Sustainable Production and Consumption, and Sustainable FInancing. He joined WWF-Malaysia in 2012 as Head of Conservation Sarawak. Over April 2015 to 2017, Henry was seconded to be the Heart of Borneo Leader for WWF-Malaysia and WWF-Indonesia.