Home Blog

Voice Of The Ocean Competition Winners 2023

The annual Voice of the Ocean Photo/Video/Art Competition celebrates visual representations of the ocean. The best works by underwater photographers and videographers were presented and judged live by a celebrated panel of distinguished experts at ADEX OCEAN MISSION 2023 at the

Sands Expo and Convention Centre on the 2nd April 2023.

The nominations were shortlisted from hundreds of entries and shown to the judges to present their score. Discussions were held and interesting comments were made for each image/video/Art work, appreciating the talent in involved.

Thank you to everyone who participated this year and CONGRATULATIONS to our winners! We look forward to the next competition in 2024!

Entry & Category Winner

Best of Show
Regie Casia (Philippines)

Photo of the Year
XJ Toh (Singapore)

Environmental Photo of the Year
Pasquale Vassallo (Italy)

Compact Camera Photo of the Year
Jules Casey (Australia)

Artwork of the Year
Sally Snow (United Kingdom)

Underwater Fashion Photo of the Year
Plamena Mileva (Jordan)

Video of the Year
Sabrina Inderbitzi – Switzerland

 

 

Many thanks to our judges:

Valerie Taylor

Valerie Taylor is a global marine pioneer, conservationist, winner of multiple awards as a photographer and filmmaker, scriptwriter, author and painter, she is also an inaugural member of both the Diving Hall of Fame and the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Valerie and her husband, Ron, made numerous documentaries and sequences for films such as Jaws and Valerie played herself in the film Blue Water White Death. Her photographs have appeared in National Geographic magazine, and she has twice appeared on the magazine’s cover.

 

Jayne Jenkins

Jayne was a volunteer diver with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service in Sydney, worked as a safety diver and researcher for various underwater film, television and photographic expeditions in the Pacific, and remains an editorial contributor to Dive Log and Scuba Diver magazines. She is currently resident photographer and consultant with The Ocean Agency, a fast, game-changing creative scientific project that records the world’s oceans and reefs in high-resolution, 360-degree panoramic vision. Jayne is also a member of the prestigious Woman Divers Hall of Fame and a Fellow International of The Explorers Club, where she is manager of memberships and expeditions for the AZEC chapter.

 

Renee Capozzola

Renee is a conservation-oriented underwater photographer who has received over fifty prestigious international awards for her work including Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021 in the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition and the Female Fifty Fathoms Award from the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards.  Her images have also appeared throughout the world in leading publications, including National Geographic, and she has been featured by multiple news outlets such as CNN, USA Today, BBC News, People, the Today Show, and France 2.

 

Patti Kirk Gross

Highly regarded as a conservation educator, Patti integrates science into marine conservation practices by developing diving specialty programmes to cultivate, inspire and educate passionate ocean stewards. As a member of the CRF International Team, she installed coral nurseries around the globe and trained “Citizen Scientists”. She crafted the Dive Safety Manual for CRF and Force Blue, and served as their Dive Safety Officer and AAUS Scientific Diving Instructor. Patti is an Officer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, a boating instructor, a National Member of the Explorer’s Club and serves as Secretary on the Board of the Ocean Agency. She also proudly serves as the Vice-President for the WDHOF Board of Trustees.

 

Ipah Uid Lynn

Ipah Uid is an underwater photographer and a PADI Instructor from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her work has won her more than 25 international awards and she was a judge at many international photography competitions. She shares her knowledge at many international dive shows, telling stories about her creative photography and her favourite places to be.

 

Dou Dou

Dou Dou advocates and influences conservation and citizen science knowledge through her social media network and became the world’s first female with 5,100 meters of free diving potential on the plateau in 2018.

She is  a certified freediver and has accumulated thousands of dives at locations like the high altitude Himalayan plateau region and the Arctic Qaanaaq Region.

Her incredible career in underwater photography and filmmaking has made her the first female National Geographic Explorer from China, having worked on projects like Planet or Plastic and Extreme China. Additionally, she founded Mumu Nature in 2017, an institution for teaching outdoor sports and citizen science in nature to the public.

 

Aiko Ohno

Aiko is not just a photographer, she is also an Ama diver, practising the ancient craft of freediving for seafood and pearls in Japan. In 2015, she moved to Toba City to continue what would become her lifetime’s work, literally immersing herself into and chronicling the life of Ama divers through her photography. As an advocate of this practice and culture, she has travelled around Japan, Australia and France to speak about the Ama divers and exhibit her images.

Voice Of The Ocean Competition Winners 2022

The annual Voice of the Ocean Photo/Video/Art Competition celebrates visual representations of the ocean. The best works by underwater photographers and videographers were presented and judged live by a celebrated panel of distinguished experts at ADEX OCEAN VISION 2022 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on the 18th September.

This year competition was tight, with hundreds of entries from 2020- 2022. The panelists were passionate about the finalists, showcasing their scores (with some scoring top 10s across the board!) and had some time to discuss each image too as there were fewer shortlisted this year. We also had a new category of short films which went down a treat!

Thank you to everyone who participated this year and CONGRATULATIONS to our winners! We look forward to the next competition in 2023…

Entry & Category Winner

Best of Show
Jules Casey (Australia)

Photo of the Year
XJ Toh (Singapore)

Environmental Photo of the Year
Brooke Lori Pyke (Australia)

Compact Camera Photo of the Year
Miguel Ramirez (France)

Artwork of the Year
Arianna Romeri (Italy)

Underwater Fashion Photo of the Year
Meaghan Ogilvie (Canada)

Video of the Year
Adil Schindler (Germany)

A beautiful story was told through Adil’s videography. This was selected as the winner as it had the most structured and poignant message about loving our oceans as we love one another and showcased sharks in their best light.

Many thanks to our judges:

Scott Tuason’s passion for photography has brought him on amazing journeys, from throwing himself into a feeding frenzy to dangling off a line in open water at night. The book Anilao, which he co-authored, won the Palme d’Or at Antibes in 2000, and his latest book, Blackwater and Open Blue, picked up Book of the Year at the 2017 Underwater Photographer of the Year Competition.

Renee Capozzola is an award-winning underwater photographer who specialises in wide-angle and split-level images. Renee believes that striking photographs help to increase awareness of our fragile marine ecosystems and encourage others to help protect our oceans. Her images have appeared in leading dive publications and have won over 50 prestigious international accolades including “Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021” in the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition and the “Female Fifty Fathoms Award” from the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards.

Tobias Friedrich is a multi-award-winning full-time underwater photographer from Germany. Several underwater photographic competitions have honoured his work, resulting in over 50 awards. In 2018, he was named “Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018” in the prestigious UPY London competition and “German Photographer of the Year 2019” at the World Shootout. He started taking photographs underwater with a DSLR in 2007 and, since then, his photographs have been published in prestigious scuba diving magazines and newspapers around the world.

Matthew Smith is a UK photographer and ambassador for Nikon Australia & Aquatica Digital Water Housings. After emigrating Down Under in 2007 in pursuit of furthering his photography career, Matty fell in love with the Pacific Ocean and has now made it his permanent playground. He is an Ocean Geographic Magazine Master Photographer and contributor and has won over 25 international photography awards, including the National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2017. His works have been used and published by National Geographic, the BBC’s “Blue Planet II” documentary, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Discovery Channel, amongst many others.

Imran Ahmad is one of Asia’s most internationally published underwater photographers. Capturing life above and below the water’s surface for over 25 years, Imran is best known for his experimental approaches to photography. He spends much of his time travelling the globe giving lectures and presentations, and promoting photography in all its aspects, both as an art form and documentary medium. He leads exclusive photography trips and runs workshops on wildlife, conservation, underwater, and travel photography.

Press Release OCEAN VISION 2022

ADEX Asia Dive Expo is the largest and longest-running dive consumer and trade show in Asia, also recognised as the must-attend event for anyone interested or involved in the world of diving! This year, ADEX is back as ADEX Ocean Vision 2022, as we dedicate the event to the elusive blue whale, which is Federally listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act and protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The blue whale population has tragically plummeted due to the advances in whaling technology which enables commercial whaling activities worldwide. ADEX Ocean Vision endeavours to raise awareness about the plight of this fascinating animal.

Having celebrated its silver jubilee in 2019, ADEX Ocean Vision will return on 16 to 18 September 2022 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore, after the halt caused by the global pandemic. The event would bring together diving enthusiasts from all over the world to rediscover, renew and revive one’s long-desired passion and dive deep into Asia’s magnificent and spectacular blue biodiversity and to progress towards a blue recovery.

ADEX Ocean Vision 2022 will bring you through 3 days of fun-filled, interactive and educational events and activities. From live sharings from expert speakers, live judging of photography competitions to lucky draws with exciting prizes to be won, you will surely be kept busy while you’re at ADEX Ocean Vision 2022! Sign up now at tinyurl.com/adexoceanvision2022 to get your tickets to the show! Registration is FREE till 31 July 2022, 23:59PM (Singapore Standard Time).

 

What’s happening at ADEX Ocean Vision 2022?

The 2022 ADEX Ocean Partnership Summit (OPS) will set the stage for ADEX Ocean Vision 2022. The Summit slogan — Inspiration. Innovation. Collaboration and Action. — aptly sums up the goals of the one-day summit, which is to foster stronger collaboration across Asia to protect and conserve our oceans together. OPS Asia will feature future-forward panel discussions, fireside chats, ocean symposiums, Scuba360 business exchange opportunities, Trade360 business forums and BlueGreen360 Awards. The event is supported by the National Parks Board Singapore, and builds on the United Nations’ 2021 to 2030 Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

 

Keep a look out for our speakers who will be presenting on different topics, namely — Conservation, Underwater Photography/Videography and Free-diving. We have an exciting line-up of speakers from all across the world who will be gracing their presence at the expo to share with us their wealth of knowledge and expertise! Mermaids and mermen will also be performing at the show to bedazzle everyone with their grace and beauty!

Conservation Speakers: Anindia Kalidava, Anuar Abdullah, B. Mohammed Nowshad, C. Abdul Riyas, Elsie Gabriel, Janel Kok, Mark Rausch, Monica Chin, Olga Belka, Raheem D.A

Underwater Photography/Videography Speakers: Aaron Wong, Ace Wu, Alan Lo, Eric Goh, Imran Ahmad, José Jeuland, Dr Klaus Stiefeld, Manny Librodo, Matthew Smith, Michael Aw, Renee Capozzola, Scott Tuason, Tobias Friedrich, William Tan

Free-diving Speakers: To be confirmed – Stay tuned!

Performing Mermaids and Mermen: Afa Zhang, August Ho, Mermaid Couple (Alex and Irina) Denice Erycka, Fari Wu, Mermaid Joyce, Mermaid Lea, Lu Huang, Mermaid Luna, Mermaid Mela, Melodie Yap, Merliah Moidu, Merwen, Mermaid Mia, Sirene Kalypso, Yukki Wong, Mermaid Zwi

Needless to say, there will also be booths from different exhibitors featuring dive equipment, tourist and diving destinations, diving packages and filling up the space at the expo! If you are looking for any diving-related apparatus, packages, or simply wish to bask in the gaiety of a consumer show, ADEX Ocean Vision 2022 will not disappoint you! Currently, all 180 of our exhibitors slots are almost all filled up already! Tourism boards from different countries such as the Philippines Tourism Promotions Board will also be there to excite you with the different dive destinations and travel attractions that they have to offer.

Exhibitors: ADEX Official Shop, A Plus Marine Supply Inc, Alcan Exports, Amaya Explorer, Apnea 42, Aqualung, August Society Swimwear, Bauer, B&J Toman, Bali Hai Diving, Blue Corner Dive (Bali Indonesia), Ceningan Divers, Coral Coast Divers, Cuddlefish Divers, DAN World, Dive Box (Mares), Dive Damai, Dive Where, Divesea, Diving Solutions, Dolphine Explorer, Dragon Dive Komodo, Explorer Ventures Liveaboard Fleet, GULL Scuba Diving, Infiniti Liveaboard, K2 Lembeh Dive Resort, Poni Divers Brunei Wreck Diving, Living Oceans, Malaillo, Maldives & Red Sea Blue Force Fleet, Marianas Visitors Authority, Meridian Adventure Dive – Raja Ampat, Mermaid Liveaboards, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, MKB Dive Asia (Private) Limited, Mola Mola, Myna Tours Maldives, Nudii & Whale, Panunee, Pullman Maldives Maamuta, Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID), Santum Dive Indonesia-Bali-Una, Sabah Tourism, Sarawak Tourism Board, Sea Safari Cruises, Scuba Junkie, Scubaspa Maldives, SEACAM, Searovers Dive NW Bali, Shearwater, Silver Reef Resort, Singapore Freediving Academy, Squires Bingham Sports, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Taveuni Dive Resort, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, Whale Swim Tonga, Velocean, White Manta Diving, Wonderful Indonesia, Worldwide Dive and Sail

You can look forward to a slew of electrifying events that will take place as part of ADEX Ocean Vision 2022 too! Check out the different events below:

TekTalkAsia is one of ADEX’s biggest highlights. The conference focuses on the technical diving discipline and showcases some of the world’s most intriguing and technically challenging dives. Each year, the line-up of Tekdive speakers includes some of the most accomplished Tekdivers in Asia and around the globe! TekTalkAsia is a place to network, share experiences and tap into knowledge from the veterans and experts. The various presentations will include information on prime underwater environments, technical diving adventures and experiences, as well as new technologies. Get your tickets to TekTalkAsia now at www.adex.asia/tekdive-conference/ (limited seats available)!

Technical Diving Speakers: Alex Santos, Aron Arngrimsson, Beatrice Rivoira, Chris Haslam, Claus Rasmussen, David Street, David Strike, Dr Dawn Kernagis, Jacqueline Genuino, Marc Crane, Mark Powell, Mikko Paasi, Ram Yoro, Richie Kohler, Robin Cuesta, Rosemary Lunn, Shruti Bhanushali, Tiffany Norberg

What’s more? If you tune into the August edition of ADEX Pixel Expo on 8 August 2022, you will be able to enjoy 50% off all TekTalkAsia tickets! Simply leave a comment on the livestreams of the ADEX Pixel Expo webinars and book your tickets on the same day to be entitled to the discount.

Interested in underwater photography and videography? Take part in the annual ADEX Voice of the Ocean Photo/Video/Art Competition (VOO) 2022 now! VOO celebrates visual representations of the ocean and its many creatures. The best works by underwater photographers, videographers and artists are presented and judged live by a panel of distinguished experts — Matthew Smith, Scott Tuason, Renee Capozzola, Tobias Friedrich and Imran Ahmad —  in front of an audience! Prizes for the different categories include cameras, watches trips and much more! Submit your entries now at www.adex.asia/voo-2022/! Submissions close on 1 September 2022, 23:59PM (SST).

Interested in photography/ videography … but not necessarily underwater? Fret not! You can also take part in Asian Geographic’s Images of Asia Photo/Video Competition (IOA) 2022, as we celebrate Asia and its vibrance together!

The judges who will be conducting the live judging during the expo will be Manuel Libres Librodo Jr., José Jeuland, Eric Goh, Dr Klaus M. Stiefel and Aaron Wong. Prizes to be won include a 4D3N trip to Bohol or Coron in the Philippines, sponsored by the Tourism Promotion Board Philippines! Submit your entries now at www.asiangeo.com/ioa/! Submissions close on 1 September 2022, 23:59PM (SST).

ADEX Ocean Gallery 2022 will be the largest digital ocean gallery showcasing 2,022 underwater photographs submitted by the public, uniting under the theme ‘The Big Picture. One Ocean, One Gallery’.

We are only a few hundred photos away from our goal of amassing 2,022 underwater photos, so do submit your masterpieces now at www.adex.asia/ocean-gallery/ to see your photos showcased on the big screen both online and on-site on the LED screen at ADEX Ocean Vision 2022!

How well do you know Asia’s rich history, politics, environment and geography? The Asian Geographic Hot Soup Challenge 2022 will test participants’ knowledge on the region in a competitive environment with exciting prizes to be won! The champions will go on a 4D3N trip to the Philippines with the opportunity to explore some of the most beautiful hotspots in Bohol and Coron, sponsored by the Tourism Promotion Board Philippines.

This year, the Asian Geographic Hot Soup Challenge is opening its competition categories not just to educational institutes but people of all ages. We welcome you to pit your wits against others and see if you can clinch the title of champion of knowledge on Asia!

Over the years, the previous ASIAN Geographic Hot Soup Challenges has received strong support from secondary schools across Singapore, with over 3,200 students from over 1,000 schools participating in previous years.

Participants will also get to meet and greet our distinguished Guest of Honour, and listen to a series of educational talks from several inspirational guest speakers.

Sign up now in your teams at www.asiangeo.com/hot-soup-school-challenge/!

 

More about ADEX

Since its inception with the first edition in 1995, ADEX has been the largest, and the longest-running dive expo in Asia. An established trade-show and a trusted name in the industry, ADEX has since evolved, edition to edition, and further positioned itself to be “more than just a dive show”; opening its doors to welcome divers, non-divers, families, and students with its specially curated programmes to grow beyond its current community. Each year, ADEX focuses on a theme dedicated to an endangered marine species with the aim of raising conservation awareness.

The event is proudly endorsed by major organisations in the industry, such as the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and the China Underwater Association (CUA). It has also been recently appointed as the “Sustainable Ocean Ambassador” by the Agricultural and Food Marketing Association for Asia and the Pacific (AFMA) — the inter-government non-profit organisation in association with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

 

From the Organiser

ADEX 2022 celebrates its 27th anniversary this year! In addition, the ADEX Ocean Partnership Summit (OPS) — announced in 2019 — will commence in 2022. With an array of scientific experts and government officials from all over the world participating in the OPS, we hope to come up with more global solutions that will propel us closer to a future with clean and sustainable oceans.

Continuing my mission to liberate the inner diver, I aim to learn with, lead and inspire the coming generations of divers to look below the waves and change the way — and the world — view our oceans. I strive to support this industry impeccably, through the navigation of the Underwater360 group, and work tirelessly to inspire and encourage people to explore the beauty beneath the waves.

 

 

 

 

 

Official Media Partners

Images of Asia Panel Discussion

Speakers:

Manuel Librodo [Philippines] Professional Photographer
A highly-decorated photographer – Specialising in travel and people, glamour and fashion photography, his popularity among photographers and photography fans is showcased by more than 27 million hits on his website. A number of big names in international photography have given praise to Librodo‘s works. In 2009, Scott Kelby called Librodo a photographer who has “phenomenal vision” who “creates pure magic”. Kelby added that Librodo was “one of the world‘s five best photographers whom you probably haven‘t heard about.”

Jose Jeuland [France] Professional Photographer
Born in Brittany, France, but now based in Singapore, Jose Jeuland started his photography journey in documentary photography. His work has been featured in international publications, and his project ‘Haenyo’, on the women divers of Jeju Island, was showcased in rock band U2’s 2019 concert in Seoul.
He is also the founder of his own photography and videography studio, COCO Creative Studio, where alongside his team, he tackles a variety of commercial projects for clients in multiple industries.
However, with borders opening, keep a lookout for more of Jose’s documentary work, as he begins to take on more opportunities for projects overseas.

Eric Goh [Malaysia] Professional Photographer / Underwater Photographer
Eric Goh started his underwater photography career two decades ago. His underwater images have since graced international magazines and newspapers. His work has been commissioned by major tourism campaigns and has been featured prominently in city walkways and national billboards. He is frequently also a judge in international photography competitions.

Dr Kalus Stiefel [Austria / Philippines] Professional Photographer / Underwater Photographer
Originally from Vienna, Austria, Dr. Klaus M. Stiefel is a biologist teaching at the Silliman University (Philippines) Institute for Environmental and Marine Sciences. Klaus is also an underwater photographer and videographer, popular science writer and technical diving instructor. His latest books, The Lives of Gobies is out now with Asian Geographic.
You can see Klaus’ underwater photos and videos on social media where he is active as Pacificklaus.

Aaron Wong [Singapore] Professional Photographer / Underwater Photographer
Aaron Wong is a professional underwater photographer with over two decades of field experience. He is the ADEX ambassador of photography, Seacam ambassador Scubapro Deep Elite, member of the Ocean Artists Society and the field editor of Scuba Diver Australasia.

Voice of The Ocean Panel Discussion

Speakers:

Scott Tuason [Philippines] Professional Underwater Photographer
Scott was first handed his underwater camera at the age of 16. Decades later, his passion for photography has brought him on amazing journeys. From throwing himself into a feeding frenzy to dangling off a line in open water at night, his photography has been recognised by the Palme D’or at Antibes festival for his book Anilao, which he co-authored in 2000. His latest books, Blackwater and Open Blue, have won awards and are sold out worldwide.

Renee Capozzola [USA] Professional Underwater Photographer
Renee Capozzola is an award-winning underwater photographer who specializes in wide angle and split-level images. Her work is an intriguing combination of artistic talent honed through oil painting during her youth and a professional background in biology. Renee believes that striking images help increase awareness of our fragile marine ecosystems and encourage others to help protect our oceans. Her images have appeared in leading dive publications and have won over fifty prestigious international accolades including “Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021” in the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition and the “Female Fifty Fathoms Award” from the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards.

Tobias Friedrich [Germany] Professional Underwater Photographer
Tobias Friedrich is an multi award winning and fulltime underwater photographer from Germany. Several underwater photographic competitions, have honoured his work, resulting in over 50 awards with nearly 30 1st places. In 2018 he has been named “Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018” in the prestigious UPY London competition and “German Photographer of the Year 2019” at the Worldshootout. He started taking images underwater with a DSRL in the year 2007 and since then his images have been published hundreds of times in prestigious scuba diving magazines and newspapers around the world.

Matthew Smith [Australia] Professional Underwater Photographer
Matty Smith is a UK photographer and ambassador for Nikon Australia & Aquatica Digital Water Housings. After emigrating down under in 2007 in pursuit of furthering his photography career, Matty fell in love with the Pacific Ocean and has now made it his permanent playground. He is an Ocean Geographic Magazine Master Photographer and contributor to the Magazine, and has won over 25 international photography awards including the National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2017. His works have been exhibited in museums all around the world including the London Natural History Museum and the Australian Museum, and have been used and published by National Geographic, The BBC’s Blue Planet 2 Documentary, The Washington Post, The Guardian and The Discovery Channel, amongst many others.

Imran Ahmad [Singapore] Professional Underwater Photographer
Imran Ahmad is one of Asia’s most internationally published underwater photographers. Capturing life above and below the water’s surface for over 25 years, Imran is best known for his experimental approaches to photography. He spends much of his time travelling the globe giving lectures and presentations, and promoting photography in all its aspects, both as an art form and documentation medium. He leads exclusive photography trips and runs workshops on wildlife, conservation, underwater and travel photography.

In-Conversation with David Strike Session: Messing About in Boats with Craig Stephen

Speaker:

Craig Stephen [Australia] Managing Director of Mike Ball Dive Expedition
Craig Stephen began diving in 1985 in the North Sea, and was certified two years later in Australia. Today, Craig is the Managing Director of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. With the knowledge gained during his dives in the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and the waters of Papua New Guinea and the company’s responsibilities towards environmental protection, Craig’s affiliations with NGOs, research groups, and scientists are aimed at conserving the world’s heritage for future generations.

 

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.

Why Ocean Literacy is important to reinforce in schools/ colleges and communities to enhance Ocean conservation and marine pollution mitigation

Speaker:

Elsie Gabriel [India] Ambassador for India Ocean Quest, Co Founder Ocean School, Founder, Young Environmentalists Programme Trust, National Coordinator Oceans Climate Reality Project India
The goal of ocean literacy initiatives is important to enable behavior change where citizens take direct and sustainable action to achieve sustainable solutions to marine environment issues. With over 15 years of experience in environmental and ocean education Elsie has been educating the students, communities with focus on the next generation. Elsie is working with Ocean Communities as Agents of change and has dived in over 23 global ocean sites like Galapagos, Malapascuya, Maldives, Grand Cayman, Mexico, Bahamas, Andamans, Lakshadweep and Australia researching the same.

Mark Rausch [USA]
Passion for diving and leadership describe the values of Mark Rausch. As a source director trainer for the Handicap Scuba Association (HSA), Mark travels globally putting the HSA program into the lives of others, so they, in turn, can enrich the lives of other individuals with a disability through diving. Sharing the HSA program with other divers fills the void from the loss of his youngest son, Robert passing from cystic fibrosis. This loss caused Mark to realize all he wanted to do for the rest of his life was help others with disabilities, and globally sharing the HSA program became his mission.

Matt Wenger [Switzerland]
With twenty years as a PADI Pro under his belt, Swiss-made Matt Wenger is coming into his fourth year as the PADI Regional Manager for the Maldives. Having first set foot in the island nation in 2008 as the dive centre manager for Anantara Dhigu, Veli and Naladhu, and later working for the Park Hyatt brand, PADI Course Director and Examiner Matt has a long history with the country. Since his return in 2016 as PADI Regional Manager, Matt has overseen the steep growth in PADI’s reach in the Maldives, across both luxury resorts and emerging local island destinations. Matt is passionate about keeping a commitment to the environment at the core of everything. PADI represents in the Maldives and is dedicated to implementing PADI’s four “Pillars of Change”.

Monthly BlueGreen360 Session: 新一代北大人的海洋担当

Speakers:

赵心亮 [China] 北京大学潜水协会指导老师

陈钊铭 [China] 北京大学潜水协会团支书

冉欣怡 [China] 北京大学潜水协会现任会长

姚昌林 [China] 北大潜水协会会员, 自由潜水教练

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.

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.

123...36Page 1 of 36
© Copyright 2024. Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd