Thalassophile Project

Happy Valentine’s Day, thalassophiles! 🌊💙

💙 To celebrate our love for both our beautiful and its people (that’s you!), we’re excited to share an improved version of our logo!

💙 Our fish’s tail is now clearly heart-shaped, symbolising the love, empathy, and care driving our work.

💙 Love is our greatest superpower and a universal language, reminding us that everyone deserves access to the joy and awe the sea inspires in us—regardless of their background or circumstances.

That’s why we also wanted to share a quote by writer, educator, and trainer for transformative and disability justice, Mia Mingus, which perfectly encapsulates what we stand for. She writes:

“I would argue that ‘disability justice’ is simply another term for love. And so is ‘solidarity,’ ‘access,’ and ‘access intimacy.’ I would argue that our work for liberation is simply a practice of love — one of the deepest and most profound there is. And the creation of this space is an act of love.”

👉 Read more about her wonderful work at the following link: https://share.google/2eBn2N9GWUt9v332X

💙 We are committed to creating accessible and inclusive blue spaces because meaningful ocean conservation begins with belonging.

Join us in building an and tell us what you love most about the sea 🌊💙


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ID 1: The image shows the logo of the Thalassophile Project. It features a stylised fish whose body resembles a conch shell. The shell represents the D/deaf community, referencing the common cultural idea of holding a shell to the ear to “listen to the sea.”

The eye of the fish is placed within the opening of the shell, representing the blind and partially sighted community. The fish’s tail is clearly heart-shaped, symbolising the love, empathy, and care at the heart of the project’s mission.

The conch shell is a darker shade of blue, while the fins and eye are lighter blue. At the bottom of the logo, the text reads “Thalassophile Project.”

ID 2: The image depicts a quote over a light and dark blue water colour background. Text is a quote by Disability Justice Activist, Mia Mingus, which reads: "I would argue that “disability justice” is simply another term for love. And so is “solidarity,” “access,” and “access intimacy.” I would argue that our work for liberation is simply a practice of love—one of the deepest and most profound there is. And the creation of this space is an act of love."

The bottom of the page says "Mia Mingus—Disability Justce Advocate"

As a proudly women-led organisation, International Day of Women and Girls in Science is especially important to us 👩🏿‍🔬🌊

Today, we’re spotlighting two phenomenal women in STEM who have been our role models in championing and — 𝗗𝗿. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗻 and 𝗗𝗿. 𝗔𝗺𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.

Read more about their pioneering work and tell us about a woman in that you admire.

We’d also like to celebrate and thank all the amazing women in marine science who have supported us over the past four years — you are at the heart of this mission, and your care and commitment continue to shape our work 💙

Let's continue to ocean engagement and participation together! ✊🏼🤟🏾


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ID 1: Title slide with a light and dark blue water colour background. The Thalassophile Project logo is in the top left corner — it is a light blue shell icon resembling a fish on a white background. To its right is the date 11 February.

Text reads: "International day of women and girls in science. Meet two of our greatest inspirations in STEM." There is then a white arrow icon in the bottom right corner pointing to the next slide.

Two female scientists are in the bottom of the page. The one on the left is Dr Amy Bower — a white woman with shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a small chain necklace and a white top that has a black arrow shape round the neckline.

The lady on the right is Dr Caroline Solomon. She is also a white woman with shoulder-length, curly, dark hair and is wearing a sleeveless black top with a white sun pattern.

ID 2: The background is the same light and dark blue water colour image from slide 1.

There is an image of a woman called Dr Caroline Solomon pictured on the bottom right side of the slide. She is a white woman with shoulder-length, curly, dark hair, wearing a sleeveless black top with a sun pattern.

Text reads: "Aquatic ecologist Dr. Caroline Solomon is a professor of Biology and Director of the School of Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics, and Public Health at Gallaudet University.

She is the first female president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, where her teaching focuses on bringing d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing stufents into STEM".

ID 3: The background is the same for this slide, a light and dark blue water colour image.

A photo of Dr Amy Bower is on the bottom right side of the slide. She is a white woman with shoulder-length dark hair. She is wearing a small silver chain necklace and a white top that has a black arrow shape round the neckline. Text reads: "A physical oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Dr. Amy Bower is known for her research on ocean circulation and her advocacy for improved accessibility tools and equal access to information for blind scientists.

As the founder of OceanInsight, Dr. Bower enables blind students of all ages to fully engage in science and follow her research through audio postcards from her expeditions, creating meaningful opportunities for access and participation."

In the bottom of the page is the link to the OceanInsight webpage: https://share.google/zoEuAIRzXCBg1Smcq

ID 4: The same light and dark blue water colour background. Text is a quote from Dr Amy Bower which reads: "If they don't ever meet a blind scientist, they're never going to think that they can be one."

🌊 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 — 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂!

We've had many new faces join us recently, so we thought it was time for a reintroduction! And what better way to do that than by sharing the comprehensive poster our founder, , presented at the conference in London last week.

We have also uploaded a PDF version of the poster with alt text at the following link: https://tr.ee/8-L71YS2Xm

Thalassophile Project works at the intersection of social and environmental justice, with the goal of restoring society's relationship with the Ocean by making and accessible for people who are d/Deaf and/or blind. This mission is reflected in the poster, which walks you through the resources developed as part of the Thalassophile Project Partnership — bringing together adult education and social justice NGO Interchange.eu and accessibility experts from Istituto dei Sordi di Torino.

This collaboration led to the development of our 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀, 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 and 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗯, all of which you can find on our website https://www.thalassophileproject.org/.

What started as a dream and personal mission to bring more people from underrepresented groups into marine conservation has evolved into a leading platform championing and 🐚✨️

We look forward to continuing this work, breaking even more barriers to participation and bringing more people on board because "the Ocean is diverse, therefore its champions should be, too" — words by the amazing Dr .

🌊 Explore our resources, share them widely, and engage with us — together we can build a more inclusive future for marine science, ocean literacy and conservation.

UN Ocean Decade | Ocean Literacy Unesco IOC
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Image Description 1: A full view of the Thalassophile Project poster in blue, yellow, and orange. The poster outlines accessible marine science initiatives, including educational videos with sign language, a resource hub, factsheets, and a common accessibility framework, with images and QR codes throughout.

Image Description 2: Rada Pandeva, a white woman in her 20s with long curly brown hair, stands beside a large conference poster titled “Thalassophile Project: Universally Accessible Marine Science & Ocean Literacy", featuring bright colours, diagrams, photos, and QR codes in an indoor conference setting.

Image Description 3: A printed conference abstract titled “Thalassophile Project: Universally Accessible Marine Science & Ocean Literacy”, authored by Rada Pandeva, describing the project’s aims, accessibility focus, and partnerships, with Coastal Futures 2026 branding.

Image Description 4: Close-up of a conference name badge reading “Rada Pandeva – Thalassophile Project” and “Coastal Futures 2026,” displayed on a textured mustard-coloured surface.

We’re so excited to be heading to the Conference in next week! 🐚✨️

A huge thanks to for granting us access to the Blue Zone! We’ll be using this opportunity to continue elevating voices too often left out—especially those of people with disabilities and youth. The Ocean needs everyone, and it’s high time decision-making spaces truly reflected that.

🔹️Catch Rada playing a plastic bag (yes, really!) at the Co-Creating Ocean Stories joint event with Earth Law Center, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, and Stop Ecocide International on , 8 June, at 14:00 CET at NOW Studio.

🔹️Then, on 11 June, join us in the Green Zone “La Baleine” at the Beyond Borders Pavilion for the public presentation of Blue Thread!

Get in touch if you'd like to connect and drop a comment below with any other exciting events that shouldn’t be missed!

Sea you in Nice! 🇫🇷🌊


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