Empowering Ocean Advocates for 2025-26: Selection for the Great Blue Wall Fellowship Focuses on Strengthening Leadership and Sharing African Ocean Narratives
The Great Blue Wall Initiative has announced the launch of the Great Blue Wall Fellowship 2025-26, a year-long leadership and advocacy program aimed at bridging the gap between local solutions and regional and global decision-making spaces. This initiative focuses on ocean conservation and the regenerative blue economy in the Western Indian Ocean region, particularly seagrass ecosystems.
The Fellowship is open to local leaders and advocates working at the frontlines of ocean conservation in Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Seagrass ecosystems, vital for the health and resilience of marine environments in the Western Indian Ocean, are the starting point for this inaugural Fellowship.
Seagrass provides habitat for threatened species such as dugongs and green turtles, shields coastlines from erosion, and supports biodiversity. It also sequesters carbon, with seagrass meadows covering just 0.1% of the seabed yet storing up to 18% of the ocean's carbon. However, these ecosystems face threats from climate change, overexploitation, and habitat loss.
The Great Blue Wall Fellowship 2025-26, supported by the Western Indian Ocean Coastal and Ocean Resilience (WIOCOR) project, funded by the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM), aims to establish a cohort of coastal champions who will work actively on ocean sustainability initiatives. Over 12 months, Fellows will participate in monthly virtual learning sessions, receive tailored mentorship, and sharpen their storytelling and advocacy skills.
The Fellowship is not just about education and training but also about amplifying community-led ocean and seagrass solutions. Fellows will engage in policy dialogues and deliver a final project that emphasises the importance of seagrass conservation and the role of local communities in achieving a regenerative future for people and nature.
WIOCOR recognises seagrass as a cornerstone of socio-ecological resilience and works with local communities, scientists, and policymakers to map, protect, and restore seagrass ecosystems across the region. The Fellowship aims to help Fellows shape narratives, influence policy, and mobilise action for this cause.
The Western Indian Ocean is a rich marine region, home to seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangroves, and productive fisheries. Communities, scientists, entrepreneurs, and young leaders across Africa are already driving solutions for these ecosystems. The fellowship aims to equip local leaders from these five countries with the skills, networks, and visibility needed to continue this vital work.
Applications for the Great Blue Wall Fellowship 2025-26 close on 30 August 2025 (23:59 EAT). If you are a local leader working in ocean conservation in the Western Indian Ocean region, this could be an opportunity to make a significant impact on ocean health and regeneration in your community.
- The Great Blue Wall Initiative focuses on nature-based solutions for ocean conservation, specifically seagrass ecosystems, in the face of climate change.
- To bridge the gap between local solutions and global decision-making spaces, the Initiative has launched the Great Blue Wall Fellowship 2025-26.
- This year-long leadership program is open to local leaders and advocates working on ocean conservation in Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
- Seagrass ecosystems, crucial for marine health and resilience in the Western Indian Ocean, are under threat from climate change, overexploitation, and habitat loss.
- Seagrass conversely provides a habitat for threatened species and sequesters carbon, making it a vital component for a regenerative blue economy.
- The Fellowship, supported by the WIOCOR project and FFEM, will equip Fellows with skills for ocean sustainability initiatives through monthly virtual learning sessions, mentorship, and sharpening of storytelling and advocacy skills.
- The Fellowship emphasizes the importance of seagrass conservation and local community engagement, aiming to amplify community-led ocean and seagrass solutions.
- Fellows will participate in policy dialogues and deliver a final project that underscores the role of local communities in achieving sustainable living for people and nature.
- Beyond education and training, the Fellowship aims to mobilize action and shape narratives for seagrass conservation, influencing policy and creating awareness.
- WIOCOR, a partner in the Fellowship, works on mapping, protecting, and restoring seagrass ecosystems across the Western Indian Ocean region.
- The Western Indian Ocean is a rich marine region, teeming with seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangroves, and productive fisheries, making it a fertile ground for innovation in the fields of environmental-science, health-and-wellness, lifestyle, and sustainable-living.
- Through this Fellowship, local leaders will gain the skills and networks necessary for continued work in ocean conservation, contributing to environmental-science, career-development, and personal-growth.
- Across Africa, communities, scientists, entrepreneurs, and young leaders are driving solutions for marine ecosystems, and the Fellowship aims to support these efforts via finance, education-and-self-development, technology, data-and-cloud-computing, and sports-analysis, fostering a culture of learning, skills-training, and nurturing future NBA stars in sports like basketball.
