Testimonials from the Dive Lab: Professor Edem Mahu

Professor Edem Mahu, Marine Biogeochemist at the University of Ghana, wrote about her experience participating in our Dive Lab this September.

“If we truly want to change the narrative of who tells our stories beneath the waves, we must remove the barriers that keep Africans from accessing the underwater world.

Back in August 2023, Ghana hosted the maiden WAMSS Meeting (West African Marine Science Symposium (WAMSS) with support from the National Geographic Society Together with Nature Environment Wildlife Filmmakers led by its co- founder Noel Kok, we held a groundbreaking session on “Enabling Access to the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic.” Diving emerged as a powerful tool connecting people directly with marine life and giving them the chance to tell authentic African stories from beneath the big blue. But sadly, very few Africans had ever had that chance including scientists.

Fast forward two years… and the narrative is shifting! Thanks to NEWF, West Africa now celebrates a milestone: the training and certification of Ghana’s first-ever PADI Master Dive Instructor George Amado the founder of Coral Reefstoration Ghana. Through his organization Coral Reef Restoration Ghana, George has executed Ghana’s first dive lab, a game-changing opportunity for science, conservation, and storytelling.

For the very first time, George led me, three of my students Maurice Edusei, Comfort Opoku and other conservation enthusiasts 10 meters beneath Ghana’s seafloor. Such an unforgettable moment, an entirely new window opening into underwater research, science and storytelling from archaeology to history to conservation and restoration.

I am deeply proud of how far we’ve come as Sub-region. With the foundations laid by WAMSS, the support of NEWF, and the vision of Coral Restoration Ghana, Africa’s underwater stories are no longer out of reach,they are beginning to be told by Africans themselves.

The WAMSS Meeting should not be a one off event! I have had several people reaching out to me about when the next meeting will take place. Convening West African Ocean enthusiasts through WAMSS is unique opportunity to share ideas, brainstorm barriers and think solutions for our ocean.”

Read the full post on Professor Madu’s LinkedIn page here