Making Waves: Winter 2022-2023 Community News Roundup

Forbes: Navier Unveils Its First U.S. Electric Hydrofoil

SOA Startup: Navier (2019 2nd Cohort)

During Art Basel Miami Beach, Navier founder Sampriti Bhattacharyya unveiled the launch of the “Navier 30” — America’s first commercially available electric hydrofoil boat featuring a fully autonomous navigation system, autopilot technology, and one-click docking. Production has already sold out, with 1,000 inbound leads and hundreds pending on the waitlist. Come Spring 2023, Navier will also be launching a partnership with a company to run N30s as water taxis in the Bay Area.

 

Businesswire: ecoSPEARS Selected to WSP USA’s Emerge Earth & Environment Program

SOA Startup: ecoSPEARS (2021 5th Cohort)

ecoSPEARS has been selected as one of three companies to partner with WSP USA's Emerge Program, Earth and Environment Cohort — an innovative partnership program focused on creating strategic alliances to build a healthier planet. ecoSPEARS will have the opportunity to leverage WSP’s subject-matter experts and global client base to bring its green and sustainable remediation technology to clients and communities in need.

 

Business Insider: How seaweed could replace plastic bags and packaging

SOA Startup: Sway (2021 5th Cohort)

California startup Sway is using seaweed to make compostable replacements for thin films and plastic bags, sourcing raw materials from seaweed farms that simultaneously provide critical habitat for sea life, combat ocean acidification, and help to grow the blue economy. Featured in Business Insider, founder Julia Marsh discusses the process by which Sway produces its award-winning seaweed-based plastic film alternatives.

 

World Economic Forum: These start-ups are using the power of data to protect the ocean

SOA Startup: SINAY (2021 5th Cohort), Ellipsis (2021 5th Cohort), Planblue (2021 5th Cohort)

The Ocean Data Challenge, hosted by the World Economic Forum’s Uplink, elevates startups that leverage the global ocean data ecosystem to boost ocean conservation and promote the sustainable blue economy. Three SOA Accelerator Alumni — SINAY, Ellipsis Earth, and Planblue — were all honored as Top Innovators in this challenge.

 

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SOA Hubs

Trinidad & Tobago Newsday: Caribbean youth rally to defend the deep ocean

SOA Hub: Caribbean 

An ocean-themed art exhibition was held at the Art Society of Trinidad & Tobago by Sustainable Ocean Alliance Caribbean to display the Hub’s ongoing “artivism” project to raise awareness about the threats posed by Deep Seabed Mining through the visual work of many local artists. The event had an amazing turnout welcoming both local community members and individuals from other surrounding islands.

 

Inforegion: Photographic exhibition will show the impact of the Repsol spill in Ventanilla

SOA Hub: Peru 

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the REPSOL Oil Spill that devastated the pristine coastlines of Peru, SOA Peru and Oceana Peru co-hosted a photo exhibition, De Azul a Negro, in collaboration with Lugar de la Memoria, la Tolerencia y la Inclusión Social (LUM).

The inauguration of the exhibition welcomed over 160 guests, including two ministers, five congressmen, and over 20 impacted fishermen alongside SOA Peru Representatives and Hub Members. This exhibit aims to become a space for reflection, conversation, and action in protecting Peru’s coastal communities and ecosystems. Visitors can experience De Azul a Negro at LUM through March 19, 2023.

 

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SOA Partners

RespectOcean: 2023 Ocean Pitch Challenge Announced

SOA Partner: RespectOcean

Officially endorsed by the UNESCO Ocean Decade, RespectOcean and Sustainable Ocean Alliance have launched the third edition of the Ocean Pitch Challenge to support innovative entrepreneurs around the globe and enable them to further develop their nature-based solutions. Apply to join this acclaimed event by February 28, 2023.

 

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SOA Representatives, Youth Leaders, and More

Embassy of France: Fijian Activist Komal Narayan receives the Simone Veil Prize Award

SOA Regional Representative for Pacific Islands: Komal Kumar

This January, Komal Kumar Narayan traveled to Paris, France to receive the “Simone Veil Prize” for her excellent work in Fiji and the Pacific around climate change, gender inequality, ocean health, and sustainability.

Chosen by the French President and awarded by the French Embassy, this prize is awarded each year on International Women’s Day in an effort to promote and share women’s autonomy, education, and participation in leadership roles around the world.

 

TEDx Talks: Juventud más allá de Tik Tok

SOA Costa Rica Hub Member: Kyara Cascante

An independently organized TED Talk event, TEDxPuraVidaJoven highlights the bright ideas and voices of young individuals in Costa Rica. Kyara Cascante of SOA Costa Rica delivered a compelling talk on the importance and strength of young people in global discussions, why empowering youth matters, and that it may be time to move away from an adult-centered world. 

 

Ocean x Climate Summit: The Global Plastics Treaty & Imagining a World without Plastic

SOA Regional Representative for Africa: Forbi Perise

The Global Plastics Treaty, in conjunction with nature-based solutions, is key to tackling the global plastic pollution crisis. During the Ocean x Climate Summit — a daylong event hosted by Oceanic Global at COP27 — Forbi Perise spoke on his firsthand experience with plastic pollution in his home country of Cameroon, what a world void of plastic pollution can look like, how education can empower communities to take action.

 

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