Think Tank
Where ocean knowledge becomes headlines and policy
EMPOWERING CHANGE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE
WomenAndOceans is a Think Tank funded by the European Commission (Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions WomenAndOceans – 101105000) and dedicated to producing research with direct relevance for policy and public debate. Its work focuses on strengthening the legitimacy of ocean-based communities and practices and on supporting stakeholders who operate within complex maritime environments. The Think Tank is led by women researchers working in maritime and ocean-related fields. Its name reflects both the leadership of women scholars in shaping the initiative and a broader commitment to recognising the importance of gender perspectives in ocean governance. Across many maritime regions, women play crucial but often under-recognised roles in coastal economies, knowledge systems, heritage practices, and environmental stewardship. The Think Tank aligns with ongoing international efforts to strengthen gender equity in ocean research, policy, and diplomacy.
A central concern of the Think Tank is the way the ocean is framed in public discourse. It examines how media language shapes perceptions of maritime space, security, and risk, and how these narratives influence political priorities. At the same time, it challenges terracentrism, understood as the tendency to think about the ocean from a land-based perspective and to subordinate maritime realities to terrestrial logic of control, ownership, and governance.
Through research, policy dialogue, and public communication, WomenAndOceans seeks to reshape how the ocean is understood and represented, while promoting more inclusive perspectives within debates on ocean governance and maritime futures. It aims to influence agendas, provide strategic arguments for stakeholders, and contribute to long-term transformations in ocean governance and environmental diplomacy.
The Women & Oceans Think Tank forms part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) as an activity developed under Ocean Decade Project 81.6: Women, Heritage & Navigation in the Pacific.
Legitimising Ocean Voices
This Think Tank is committed to strengthening the link between policymakers and those whose lives and livelihoods depend on the sea. It actively challenges policies that overlook maritime realities and the diverse knowledge systems—including those shaped by gendered roles in coastal societies—that sustain ocean-dependent communities. It promotes approaches that recognise the knowledge, practices, and traditions shaped through long-term engagement with ocean environments. Its work seeks to ensure that these voices are not marginalised in decision-making processes that govern marine and coastal spaces, and that ocean-dependent communities are treated as legitimate actors in debates about sustainability, security, and governance.
Ocean Voices in Public Discourse
The Think Tank places public discourse at the centre of its work, recognising that the way the ocean and ocean-connected communities are spoken about shapes political priorities and environmental action. It challenges reductive and marginalising language in media and policy narratives and promotes ways of framing maritime lives and practices that reflect their social, cultural, and political significance. By engaging with journalists, institutions, and policymakers, it seeks to reshape how ocean issues are understood and debated in the public sphere. Through this focus on language and representation, the Think Tank also fosters collaboration among diverse stakeholders, supports constructive dialogue, and encourages innovative responses to the environmental challenges affecting marine and coastal spaces. It advances diplomatic practices that address ocean health and maritime governance in concrete terms, with the aim of generating tangible change for marine environments and contributing to their long-term preservation.
Sea Voices in Underwater Heritage
Underwater heritage sites hold deep cultural meaning for people whose histories and identities are shaped through long-term relationships with the sea. These sites act as material links to maritime traditions, collective memory, and past ways of life, particularly where landscapes have been transformed by sea-level rise or environmental change. Preserving such places is therefore not only a matter of protecting physical remains, but also of sustaining cultural practices and social identities connected to marine environments. The safeguarding of underwater heritage contributes to the recognition of ocean-based histories and supports the continuity of maritime cultures across generations.
