Taking us on a journey, the short films demonstrate how One Ocean Hub is collaboratively influencing decision-making processes and practices at different scales, with the goal of shaping the future of the ocean for justice and sustainability.

The films demonstrate how Hub research and approaches bring together collaborators, including community members, scientists, lawyers, artists and decision-makers, government, civil society organisations and private sector who collectively explore innovative methods to work together on issues affecting the ocean, coastal communities and the planet. What is apparent is a sense that the Hub has participated in and contributed to the beginnings of a new era for transdisciplinary ocean research.

Both films ‘Waves of Impact’ and ‘Different ways of knowing: Exploring diverse understandings and meanings of the ocean’ provide a platform to take stock of how far the Hub has come since the early days of establishing the network, right up to the opportunity to come together in-person at our Closing Conference which took place in May 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa to discuss and plan for the Hub’s future.

The Hub has strived to curate a transdisciplinary space which has proved both complex and consistently challenging, but also incredibly rewarding for those who have fully engaged with it.

‘Waves of Impact‘ 

The film ‘Waves of Impact‘ offers an opportunity to hear directly from Hub researchers and partners on their reflections of participating in the Hub, encapsulating five years of work, harnessing further evidence of the impacts that have emerged from the work of the Hub. 

It is evident that one of the major impacts demonstrated is the transformation taking place at the local community level, the national or regional level and even at the international level.  The Hub has strived to maintain a transdisciplinary space  which although challenging, is also incredibly rewarding for those who have fully engaged throughout, paving the way for future transformative ocean research and governance approaches. 

The film demonstrates one of the biggest impacts of One Ocean Hub has been in influencing and driving processes that are essential for fair and inclusive decision making, reflecting on what has been achieved since the beginning of the Hub and what was learned along the way, as well as looking forward to what comes next. 

‘Different ways of knowing: Exploring diverse understandings and meanings of the ocean’

The film ‘Different ways of knowing: Exploring diverse understandings and meanings of the ocean’ looks at the Hub’s journey to find new ways to connect and collaborate with indigenous communities addressing critical issues around ocean governance and justice, as well as climate change, adopting a transdisciplinary approach. 

Bringing different people together- stakeholders, community members and academics to create an outcome that benefits not just one group of people or one organisation, but crucially, brings communities into the discussion and decision-making process to ensure that they can be part of the outcome and solutions which affect them.  

An important aspect of the work has been community-based mapping work, working with communities to understand how they experience the ocean space, identifying important cultural sites, and areas where they fish, as well as sharing their observations of environmental change that they experience in the ocean.  

Through this learning programme the One Ocean Hub has outlined when and how to use transdisciplinarity, providing relevant resources and examples in practice for both researchers and practitioners. 

This is ongoing and has allowed the Hub to lay a very strong foundation to support advocacy going forward. 

Watch the film ‘Waves of Impact’ here >> and ‘Different ways of knowing‘ here >>

Produced by Three Peaks Productions and KOGIA