The SeaVoice Annual: Issue 01 is the first-ever SeaVoice book, backed by the United Nations Ocean Decade. The Annual features a curated selection of 20 stories from 16 countries that highlight the voices of ocean advocates, scientists, artists, and community members working and living around the ocean.
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SeaVoice, an innovative platform endorsed by the Ocean Decade Heritage Network’s Cultural Heritage Framework Programme, an official programme of the United Nations Ocean Decade, and funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, is launching its first-ever book on World Oceans Day. Containing a curated selection of stories from 2023 and 2024, The SeaVoice Annual launched at the Immersed in Change Oceans Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, and the UNESCO Ocean Literacy World Conference in Venice, Italy. It will be available to download here.
Through thought-provoking articles, captivating stories, and insightful narratives, SeaVoice sheds light on the intersection between the ocean and culture, inspiring collective responsibility for our blue spaces. SeaVoice is a recognised programme of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) under the Ocean Decade Heritage Network’s Cultural Heritage Framework Programme. With a focus on the key global challenges of the UN Ocean Decade, SeaVoice emphasises the importance of understanding the complex interplay between culture, heritage, and the environment in tackling the pressing issues we face today.
“Through my research in ocean conservation I became frustrated with the lack of stories being told from the perspectives of the people who work and live by the ocean every day,” says Dr Georgia Holly, SeaVoice founder and editor-in-chief, Cultural Heritage Framework Programme Manager, and Marine Archaeologist and Biologist at the University of Edinburgh, adding, “Scientific stories are important, but only within the greater context of coastal community culture and heritage. Where can we hear about ocean culture, customs, art, and story-telling, as part of research and advocacy? If we, as scientists, really want to incorporate diverse ways of knowing into our research, first we have to make space, and listen.”
The SeaVoice Annual: Issue 01 begins with a foreword from Dr Sylvia Earle and Dona Bertarelli, renowned ocean explorers and conservationists. It contains select stories from across SeaVoice’s three digital volumes: Osmosis, Community, and Gen Sea. The book’s stories include inspiring initiatives like female-led coral restoration in Indonesia, shark fishers turned conservationists in Baja California Sur, Mexico, and community-led filmmaking in Madagascar.
“SeaVoice tells stories that explore the collision of culture and climate with our ocean, rivers, and lakes, amplifying voices of the people who work, live, and survive by bodies of water,” says Dr. Sylvia Earle of Mission Blue and Dona Bertarelli of Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy. “We invite you to read with an open heart and mind, to learn from those whose voices have too often been silenced or ignored, and to join us in our mission to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for our ocean, and therefore for life on Earth, humankind very much included.”
The SeaVoice Annual: Issue 01 is printed on locally sourced paper and bound between covers made from responsibly-sourced seaweed. With just 500 copies printed, the first run represents limited edition collector’s items, and are available on a first come first served basis. The magazine is free, with readers only paying for postage and packaging, and will be available to order here.
“We’re honoured to bring this collection of stories to print, working with the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, and partners such as Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy and the UN Ocean Decade,” says Dr. Georgia Holly, University of Edinburgh.
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