Ocean Collaborations

On 17 January, the BBNJ Agreement (High Seas Treaty) officially enters into force – a historic step for global ocean protection. To mark this milestone, Episode #19 of Ocean Collaborations looks at what this agreement means far beyond coastlines, with youth collaboration and equity at the center.

Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Autone Mululuma (20), a passionate climate justice advocate and one of the High Seas Youth Ambassadors based in Zambia. They discuss the significance of the High Seas Treaty, youth empowerment in climate advocacy, and the challenges faced by landlocked countries in engaging with ocean issues.

More about Autone (on...

In the #18 episode the Founder and Executive Director of Noventus Foundation, Koen Vriesacker, sails close to the winds of ocean collaboration with Jan Maisenbacher 🌊. Koen is an belgian-based expert inter-organizational in networks who's spent 16 years mastering the art of wicked collaboration.

It is a discussion on the relevance of interorganisational collaboration, and why this is needed to move forward in our current world. The dialogue emphasizes the need for structured approaches to foster trust and engagement among stakeholders, as well as the role of innovative solutions in addressing complex issues like deep sea mining.

First rea...

In this Ocean Collaborations podcast episode Jan Maisenbachers surfes and dives with Karen Sack, Co‑Founder and Executive Director of the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. This alliance is celebrating five years and keeps innovating to deliver 50 finance products by 2030 to drive $500M into nature-based solutions. Their Mission: Build the resilience of 250 million climate vulnerable costal people in the Global South.

🌍Listening to Karen’s story is a masterclass in building coalitions across worldviews – and in staying resilient when the political and funding landscape feels like “whiplash”. She shares powerful, very concrete stories in radical collaboration, including: Duration: 00:48:09

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Karine Toumazeau, founder and CEO of Moshun.Earth They exchange around her innovative work where she is flipping corporate foodprints into ocean wins.

This episode starts with an honest conversation around Karine’s Mompreneurship journey.

It also explores the opportunities of silo-breaking collaboration across sectors to address ocean health. Learn why the importance of storytelling and the integration of indigenous people is a core driver to regenerate the ocean as well as finding new investment pathways. You can contact Karine for business opportunities, mentorship or me...

In this conversation, Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, discusses the challenges and opportunities in the blue economy moving to a blue regenerative economy. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration and innovation and relates it to her career transition from consulting seven years ago to network and promote technology and investment in the ocean sector. The dialogue also highlights the role of women in global ocean leadership.

Takeaways

* Awareness of ocean issues is crucial for driving change.

* Kendra’s career transition highlights the importance of passion in leadership.

* Technology and...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Alexis Grosskopf, an innovator and impact investor based in Cape Town.

Alexis openly shares personal reflections as a new dad and how he balances currently his ocean collaboration work with the caring work for his daughter (and wife).

Professionally, Jan and Alexis dive deep on the 1000 Ocean Startups initiative and Ocean Hub Africa, which supports local startups in the ocean impact space.

The conversation also touches on the cultural and economic challenges of collaboration in Africa and the need for sustainable solutions that...

In episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Martin Mohn about the critical role of collaboration and finance in ocean conservation. They discuss Martin’s journey from finance to ocean advocacy, the importance of philanthropy in funding ocean projects, and the innovative Ocean Matcher platform designed to connect ocean science projects with funders. The conversation highlights the challenges faced in ocean collaboration, the need for better tools and education for investors, and a call to action for individuals to engage in ocean impact initiatives.

Takeaways

* Philanthropy plays a crucial role in funding early-stage ocean pr...

In this episode of the Ocean Collaborations podcast, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Russell Reichelt who is the sherpa of Australias Prime Minister to the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. Russell was at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice (June 2025) and spoke at several events, including re the 100% Alliance (which Australia now co-chairs with Chile). Russell shares key collaborative takeaways and future opportunities.

This conversation goes beyond policy statements:

* Collaboration for transformation – why partnerships across nations, investors, and NGOs are essential to move beyond incremental change.

* Indigenous knowledge and Pa...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Nicole Loeser about transdisciplinary collaboration and discover how it fuels blue transformation.

Nicole Loeser is co-founder of the Institute for Art and Innovation in Berlin and director of the Futuring Alliance. With more than 20 years of experience leading 350+ transdisciplinary projects, Nicole brings a rare synthesis of art, circular economy, and systemic foresight into the ocean space.

💡 If you have ever wondered how to integrate creativity, foresight, and systemic strategy into your own practice for ocean regeneration, this a bit longer than usual episode is a lig...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Eliesh about the first future experimental lab “5 oceans- 5 colonies” at Mediterranean Institute of Risk, Environment and Sustainable Development (IMREDD) of University of Côte d’Azur.

Jan met Eliesh twice at events in Nice in June.

They also reflect upon “OcéanoFuturismos - a Science Fiction prototyping future Ocean imaginaries Workshop” from TBA21. And upon “One health: Well-Being and Sustainability in the Blue Economy” (which was a side-event during UNOC at IMREDD).

The conversation emphasizes the need to listen to the ocean and learn from its e...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Thomas Egli about the importance of participatory science and Thomas dedicaded and decade-long impact work. Thomas and Jan share reflections from the One Ocean Science Congress, the Blue Economy and Finance Forum and 3rd UN Ocean Conference with a focus on the impact of the 10 days Ocean Hackathon. They discuss the challenges of the role of finance and the new A.G.I.L.E Framework for finance collaboration from Geneva Foundation for the Future. The conversation emphasizes the potential for positive change through innovative funding models and citizen...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Loreley Picourt about the importance of collaboration around the upcoming '3rd UN Ocean Conference' (UNOC3) and the launch of the 'Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition'. 🎧 Tune in to get inspired, informed and energized for a bold collaborative journey ahead.

Loreley Picourt is the Executive Director of the 'Ocean and Climate Platform' and a bold explorer of transformative approaches to ocean regeneration and collective action.

Whether you seek actionable solutions or value bold silo breaking innovation to scale regenerative blue economy solutions as part of...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with David Obura, an Kenyan marine scientist, about the social lab approach and collaborative efforts in conservation. They reflect on Davids experiences at Sustainable Oceans Lab from 2015 (https://sustainableoceanslab.org) and the importance of participatory practices.

David shares insights on the Great Blue Wall Initiative (https://iucn.org/resources/brochure/great-blue-wall-initiative) and emphasizes the need for trust and creativity in multi-stakeholder collaborations to address the challenges facing marine ecosystems.

In this conversation the importance of integrating human needs with ocean conservation efforts is discussed. They explore...

In this episode of Ocean Collaborations, host Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Nathalie Gil, the president of Sea Shepherd Brasil. Be inspired by Nathalie personal career switch journey from a successful career in FMCG marketing to her transformative experience with Sea Shepherd. We dive into the importance of collaboration in ocean conservation, the need for bold actions and the importance of regenerative leadership in activism.

She emphasizes the need for a holistic perspective in environmental efforts, the challenges faced in non-profit leadership, and the transformative opportunities that arise from adversity.

The dialogue also explores a paradigm...

In this episode, Jan Maisenbacher and Rémi Parmentier discuss the importance of collaboration among ocean stakeholders, the critical role of the ocean in climate protection and the challenges facing ocean advocacy. They delve into the upcoming UN Ocean Conference, the #LetsBeNicetotheOcean movement & initiative (join it!), and the need for a paradigm shift in ocean protection. Rémi shares insights from his extensive experience in environmental activism and emphasizes the importance of engaging younger generations in the fight for ocean conservation.

A first opportunity besides joining #LetsBeNicetotheOcean is to sign its petition to ensure that the Protection Pr...

In this episode Jan Maisenbacher talks with Patricia Ricard and Rym Benzina to share inspiring backgrounds about the collaborative initiative “Women Actions for the oceans” (WAO).

This conversation explores the WAO initiative, highlighting the importance of women's roles in ocean conservation, the need for concrete actions, and the creation of a global network to support and empower women in this field. The discussion emphasizes collaboration, community engagement, and the significance of sharing best practices and success stories to inspire action.

00:30 Introducing Patricia and Rym and “Women Actions for the Ocean”

03:30 The birth of women ac...

Let’s discover what the collaboration status-quo is from a pioneer in the seaweed sector.

We surfed the waves of how to scale seaweed collaborations…

* (00:28) Introducing Vincent Doumeizel

* (02:31) If Vincent would be the voice of the ocean…

* (04:28) What breaks Vincents heart when it comes to the status of the ocean…

* (06:24) How circular seaweed could replace the worst elements of conventional contemporary agriculture

* (09:50) Seaweed Manifesto & community: challenges & opportunities for pioneers to push and pull collaboration in the sector

* (12:09) The upcoming UN Seaweed Taskforce - support growth and fund...

Get inspired from those 28 minutes with the renowned canadian ocean conservation & governance consultant Bobbi-Jo Dobush.

We surf various important ocean collaboration topics:

* (03:25) Current Status and Concerns in Deep Sea Mining: What is the collaborative status-quo today extracting ressources from our seabeds?

* (06:37) Governance and cool challenges at International Seabed Authority (ISA): How is the tone changing inside-out and which potentials does the change have for more inclusivity?

* (13:40) New voices and perspectives around “Rights of nature”: What does it mean if we grant rights - for example to waves?

* (16:52) Opportunities and risk...

(16.2.2025) Gunter is a pioneer who has been named both "The Steve Jobs of Sustainability" and "The Che Guevara of Sustainability". He has given birth to 112 sustainability innovation cases. AND - that’s what I find really inspiring: He’s an author of 365 children stories published and distributed in all Chinese schools.

For almost four decades, he is recognized as an entrepreneur, skilled in making Sustainable Development happen, master in the design of innovative business models that build resilience and strengthens The Commons.

The solar-powered katamaran PlanetSolar with Raphael Domjan won various Guinness records sailing round the...