Addressing social-ocean priorities (overfishing, pollution, climate change, also drowning, addiction, illiteracy), using the power of watersports (and film, and translation), in a circular model with UN global goals at core, as an alternative livelihood for fisherfolk - now some of Vietnam's top watersports coaches and athletes!
MANTA’s circular model:
• Takes fishermen off over-fishing, pollution, biodiversity destruction, and fossil fuels.
• Translating their existing ocean skills to watersports, following governing body guidelines.
• In turn, the fishermen teach large groups of children, the watersports.
• Children simultaneously help sustain the fishermen’s alternative livelihoods and delivery of the global goals.
• Students explain more in short award-winning videos http://bit.ly/SDGs-2019, http://bit.ly/SDGs-2018, http://bit.ly/SDG-2017, http://bit.ly/local-children-2021.
Rationale
Watersports are relevant/pivotal, for survival with:
• The world 75% water and rising.
• Vietnam’s horrific sea-history generating a national fear of the sea.
• 6,000 Vietnamese children drowning annually (https://bit.ly/BMJ-drowning-rates-kids).
• No operational coastguard.
• ‘Our oceans are in crisis’ BLUE Marine Foundation (working to protect 30% of the World’s oceans) https://youtu.be/P6_OcR1GNcc). With watersports area and proposed marinas doubling as Marine Protected Areas/MPAs, under the radar.
• Vietnam’s stunning 4000km coastline ranked 6th most at risk from climate change.
• Watersports offering an alternative energy to fossil fuel use.
• Vietnam’s sea ranked 3rd-5th most polluted.
• Watersports provides a healthy alternative to addiction. UNODC offering training using the power of sport to help transformation, after lockdown.
Pipeline projects:
• Adding sailing to Vietnam captain’s licenses for Ministry of Transport’s College II, based on my coastal skipper training to Halong Bay captains. Halong Bay captains wrote an extra chapter in my manual on how Vietnamese and international communication systems differ at sea (lights, sounds, flags). N.B. The Ministry of Transport College may have a maritime library they would like to upgrade for their students with help from Lloyds Register.
• Adding Marine Protected Areas to proposed marina development projects for Border Police.
• Connecting Vietnam to International Surfing Federation, with surfing in Tokyo Olympics, Vietnam hosting next SEA Games, and Myanmar (2019 SEA Games host), offering to introduce Vietnam to the regional family of surfers. Three finger salute to Myanmar.
• UNODC offering training using the power of sport to help transformation in their Line Up Live Up program, when Vietnam's border lockdowns are lifted.
• A platform on TutuDesk (with amazing Nobel Peace Laureates)!
o Continuing workshop delivery to Vietnam’s 3 sports universities via Vietnam Olympic Committee.
o As training minimizes corruption while developing a national framework to help protect, local to international sailors in Vietnam.
o Allows research, with MANTA offering a base for visiting researchers: https://www.facebook.com/julia.shaw.52831/videos/10159926601662494.
Happy to collaborate with others!
MANTA's team:
• MANTA’s watersports trained fisherfolk are now Vietnam’s top sailors, surfers, windsurfers, kiteboarders, and swimming survival coaches. Following governing body guidelines, with greater safety and simpler language for Vietnam.
• Staff turnover is less than 20% since 2009.
• MANTA’s founder's
- most recent training: A 2012 International Olympic Committee scholarship to draw Vietnam’s national plan (2012).
- most recent publication, a chapter in a 2017 Springer series on Biodiversity in Sarawak (where she was born). Sailing started aged 4 years old (living on a boat), she taught friends from 5 years old (to have friends to sail with).
- most recent big boat work – preparing a Maxi superyacht for shipping to the US in 2021 - a Covid opportunity as the yacht's normal crew were locked down out of Vietnam - (and she'd helped deliver the yacht to the Philippines, before a U-turn when the mast fell down off the Spratly Islands in 2019).
Context:
Mui Ne is Vietnam's watersports capital! An international watersports hotspot/Mecca for kiteboarding since 2004 – thanks to anabatic winds generated by Mui Ne’s sand dunes – the bay has developed around watersports from a beach track with one hotel to a multicultural water-sports community/family with over a 100 hotels/guest houses fully booked in high season.
Excuse the details!
Advice/collaboration is welcome!
