As we wrap up the year I thought it would be good to share and celebrate our achievements of 2022, to reflect on some of the challenges we have had, and to start thinking about our goals for 2023.

Highlights:
- I submitted the manuscript for our book The Ocean and Us at the start of June. After over two years of bringing together and editing the book, it is finally with the publisher with a release date of January 17th (although, see challenges...). Thank you to all who contributed!

- We have a publicist for The Ocean and Us. Our book is a Popular Science title, and will be promoted universally through an experienced PR firm!

- I worked with a lovely and esteemed group of colleagues via the Stockholm Resilience Centre to envision scenarios for the future of the High Seas. This has culminated in a paper which will hopefully be published in 2023.

- The film In Too Deep (which I initiated and co-produced) for the DSCC received many accolades this year! It was the first film of its kind to talk about the threats of deep-sea mining.

- Together with the EU4Ocean Coalition (for which I am the campaign advisor) we launched the #MakeEUBlue Campaign.

- I / Women4Oceans was one of 4 NGOs invited to speak in the session on UNCLOS at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June. I chose to dedicate my intervention to the urgent need to stop deep-sea mining in its tracks.

-Women4Oceans is a part of two consortiums tendering for separate projects funded by the EU aimed at achieving gender equality and fair representation in the ocean space. We are hopeful that at least one of these projects will be awarded.

- My / W4O's work on deep-sea mining was recognised by EarthPercent, a foundation working with the music industry to support groups tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis. I am so thankful for their support!

Challenges:
- It was a tremendous challenge to get the manuscript for The Ocean and Us over the finish line. I am still anxious about the book. It has been over 7 months since submission and I had hoped that we would have a book to promote by the Holiday Season. 

- More of a lesson. I need to get better at coming up for myself and ensuring that I am properly credited for the work that I do. It might sound trivial but recognition allows us to grow. (If you don't do it, no one else will do this for you).

- Whilst I consider myself to have a global network of friends and colleagues in the ocean space, I work on my own and this means it is a very lonely journey at times.

Goals: My thoughts aren't fully formed yet!
- I will continue campaigning on the dangers of deep-sea mining.

- I am going to think about where I want to take Women4Oceans next and how I can continue to lift people in the ocean space.

- I am going to try raise more funds for the work that we do. I wish more foundations would recognise that small groups and individuals can be very powerful agents of change. We are not bound by bureaucracy or internal dynamics. We are flexible and passionate. We get things done. 

- I am going to try and fret less about the things I cannot control (like the climate crisis). I can only do what is in my own power to do.

Finally, whilst each year continues to bring more uncertainty in terms of the unfolding climate catastrophe, the accelerating loss of wildlife, and this year the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, and so much more... I am so grateful for every opportunity I have been given in 2022, both professionally and personally.

I hope 2023 will bring peace. I hope we move towards each other, take the time to listen to one another, and build more tolerance for our differences. If we don't, we will fail our planet, the beautiful beings that live here, and ourselves.

We are one people traveling on the same Ocean Planet.

See you in 2023!
​Farah

Season's Greetings! Here's a short interview I did at the ENLIT Europe energy conference earlier this month. It was a wonderful experience to engage with new audiences. One company I met with has already approached us to sign the pledge in support of a moratorium on deep-sea mining and committing not to source minerals from the deep-sea! Will your company be next? noseabedmining.org
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Together we can stop a disaster from starting!

#women4oceans #together4oceans #theoceanandus #energytransition #circulareconomy #nodeepseamining

From the ENLIT website:
In an exclusive interview at Enlit Europe 2022, Pamela Largue speaks to Farah Obaidullah of Women4Oceans about the threats to our oceans, how to mitigate them and why the energy transition and blue economy work hand in hand.
According to Obaidullah, we cannot address the climate and energy issues without addressing the ocean issues and one of the biggest issues threatening the health of our oceans is deep sea mining.
Companies are looking to extract minerals required for the energy transition from 4-6km below the ocean floor.
The process will see the sea floor strip-mined for mineral nodules, destroying habitat and reintroducing stored carbon back into the atmosphere, potentially with dire consequences.

Last week (30 November 2022) I spoke at the Enlit Europe energy conference in Frankfurt on why we should not mine the deep-sea and why we don’t need to!

Electric vehicle and tech companies already pledge their support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining (see here). It's now time for the energy sector to get vocal against deep-sea mining! 

It was such a great experience to be immersed in discussions around energy security and the future of energy, and to be surrounded by people working in an entirely different field to my own! I learned a lot and the feedback from delegates was that they learned a lot too! We can't allow deep-sea mining to happen let alone go unnoticed!

I am also excited to work with filmmaker & investigative journalist Quentin Noirfalisse and his team to bring this issue to a wider audience!

Support our work! - Farah Obaidullah, Ocean Advocate & Founder Women4Oceans
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#DefendTheDeep #Women4Oceans #Together4Oceans