Nairobi, Kenya — The Great Blue Wall Initiative today announced the launch of the Great Blue Wall Leadership Programme 2025–2026, a transformative one-year programme designed to equip local leaders from five countries of the Western Indian Ocean with the skills, networks, and visibility needed to influence policy, inspire collective action, and tell the story of protecting Africa’s ocean and coasts — with a particular focus on seagrass ecosystems.
The Western Indian Ocean is one of the world’s richest marine regions, home to seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangroves, and productive fisheries that support more than 60 million people. Yet, these ecosystems are under increasing threat from climate change, overexploitation, and habitat loss.
Across Africa, communities, scientists, entrepreneurs, and young leaders are already developing solutions: restoring seagrass meadows, regenerating coral reefs, protecting mangroves, creating sustainable businesses in the blue economy, and advancing inclusive governance models such as Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA). However, these achievements are not always fully recognized or supported at regional and global levels.
This programme was created to fill that gap: to ensure that innovation, knowledge, and ocean stewardship—already deeply rooted in African coastal communities—are heard, supported, and brought into decision-making spaces. With a strong focus on leadership, advocacy, and storytelling, it aims to help participants shape narratives, influence policy, and mobilize action for a regenerative future, benefiting both people and nature.
The programme will support changemakers from five Great Blue Wall seascapes—Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania—to amplify the impact of their initiatives in conservation, advocacy, innovation, and science. Over twelve months, participants will engage in monthly virtual sessions, receive tailored mentorship, strengthen their storytelling and advocacy skills, take part in policy dialogues, and lead a final project that highlights community-based solutions related to oceans and seagrass.
This pilot programme is supported by the Western Indian Ocean Coastal and Ocean Resilience (WIOCOR) project, funded by the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM). WIOCOR recognizes seagrass as a pillar of socio-ecological resilience and works with local communities, scientists, and policymakers to map, protect, and restore these ecosystems across five countries. Seagrass was chosen as the starting point for this inaugural programme as it is the “unsung hero” of the ocean: covering just 0.1% of the seafloor while storing up to 18% of oceanic carbon, sustaining millions of people through productive fisheries, shielding coasts from erosion, and providing habitat for threatened species such as the dugong and green turtle.
Applications are open until 30 August 2025 (11:59 p.m. EAT) in French, English, and Portuguese. The programme is non-residential, complementary to participants’ existing commitments, and open to individuals actively engaged in ocean conservation, the regenerative blue economy, or nature-based solutions.
