This campaign has now closed

The Maldives is 99% ocean, yet many local women have never seen the world under the waves. By training 26 women from 13 islands as swim instructors, we’ll empower them to connect others to the ocean for years to come, enhance livelihood opportunities, and inspire grassroots conservation initiatives.

100%
Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Environment/Conservation Environment/​Conservation
  • Beneficiaries

    • General Public/Humankind General Public/​Humankind
    • Minority Groups Minority Groups
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls

    Situation

    To sustainably protect biodiversity, coastal communities must act as custodians of their environment. In many ocean dependent states, women don’t swim, snorkel or engage with the ocean as men do; some Maldivian girls are 3x more likely to feel unconfident in the sea. This can exacerbate inequalities and restrict access to conservation decisions and careers. We protect what we love and love what we know. Maldivian women cannot truly connect to the ocean unless empowered with skills to access it.

    Solution

    We will trial and upscale models to drive systemic change by enabling females to access the ocean through community-led swim and snorkel training programmes. The pilot involves training 26 Maldivian women from 13 inhabited islands as swimming instructors and supporting them to teach over 10,400 people (2% of the Maldives’ population) to swim and connect to the ocean by 2025. We’ll assess successes and evidence benefits, aiming to expand the programme in the Maldives and beyond.

    • “”
      -
    • “”
      -
    • “”
      -
    100%
    Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Environment/Conservation Environment/​Conservation
  • Beneficiaries

    • General Public/Humankind General Public/​Humankind
    • Minority Groups Minority Groups
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls