For over 20 years, Patricia has been actively engaged in the convergence of Arts, Education, and Sustainability. Her diverse background encompasses work in academic, artistic, business, governmental, and non-profit sectors. Driven by an unwavering passion for rivers and seas, she founded Acqua Mater in 2017, placing WATER and the OCEAN at the heart of all its projects.
Senior Programme Specialist at the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, where she coordinates the “Ocean Literacy With All” (OLWA) Programme of the UN Ocean Decade and is also in charge of all Ocean Literacy activities and Ocean Science Communication.
Previously she was the technical secretary of the Tsunami Early Warning System for the North-Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and connected Seas.
She holds a MSc in Environmental Sciences, with a specialization in Marine Sciences, and a PhD in Analysis and Governance for Sustainable Development.
Wenche (“Venka”) is an experienced leader in corporate sustainability globally.
Building on over 15 years of experience in sustainable business and policy, she is currently the Director of Strategy and Partnerships in the science-business initiative Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS).
Since 2018, she has been engaged as a Senior Advisor to the UN Global Compact management in New York, working with the UN system to build awareness of the critical role of ocean stewardship in the 2030 Agenda.
Through her Consultancy Organization Wega, she has been advising many executives on Ocean Stewardship.
She is a marine geologist specializing in Science education. She participated in oceanographic campaigns taught at the University of Lisbon and Évora. She is a teacher trainer, guest editor, and reviewer of Ocean Literacy articles.
From 2006 to 2009, she worked in the Task group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf.
Since 2009 she has been dedicated to promoting Ocean Literacy, namely in formal and non-formal education. She is responsible for creating synergies between the sea sector, science, education, NGOs, and municipalities to improve Ocean Literacy in Portuguese Schools.
She coordinates the National Blue School program in Portugal, she is part of the coordination of the Atlantic network of Blue Schools and part of the Aanchor experts on Ocean Literacy.
Karen Kun is the Founder and President of Waterlution. She thrives sharing her global experience, extensive network, creativity and leadership skills with others across the water sector.
Developing programming to build diverse skills and networks for water and climate leaders with the necessary tools to approach complex issues through innovation is a cornerstone of Waterlution’s ongoing work to drive positive change.
Karen credits her time two decades ago living and working with Indigenous communities in Latin America as the inspiration behind applying water as a metaphor for everything essential in caring for and preserving ourselves and our planet.
Chilean journalist based in Brazil for decades, she is an award-winning journalist with over 20 years of experience in socio-environmental issues.
She is one of the founders of the League of Women for the Ocean and the Director of the documentary “Women in Conservation”.
She was a producer and reporter for the TV Cultura program "Mar sem Fim" (Endless Sea).
She has led major field expeditions, hosted a radio program on environmental topics for 10 years, and for the past 5 years, she has been hosting the renowned podcast "Voices from the Planet". She is a regular contributor to National Geographic Brazil, where she tells stories of conservation, biodiversity, women, and the ocean.
Biologist and PhD from the Institute of International Relations, with a postdoctoral degree from the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (USP).
For over 10 years, she has been researching coastal/marine management and governance, focusing on the interface between Science & Policy and Gender Issues in the Ocean.
She is a researcher at the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and one of the founders of the League of Women for the Ocean.
She has worked in environmental organizations such as the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation and Greenpeace.
She is the Lead Author for UNEP in the Global Environment Outlook 6.
In 2021, she published a book on Regional Organizations for Fisheries Management.
She has authored over 30 scientific articles and has written books in partnership with other researchers.
Glauco is a Biologist with a Master's degree in Ecology from the University of São Paulo and has over 20 years of experience in biodiversity conservation and water management.
He has worked for environmental NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy and WWF-Brazil, and has served as a consultant for major projects such as the GEF Pantanal, GEF Amazon, and the 8th World Water Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
He has also worked at the Regulatory Agency for Water, Energy, and Basic Sanitation of the Federal District (Adasa) and at the Natural Sciences Programme of UNESCO Brazil, as a Project Manager.
The Dialogue with the Arts is the essence of all her work. During 23 years at Globo TV, she was a scriptwriter for miniseries and for the programs: Ofício em Cena (Craft on Stage) and Starte, both at Globonews.
As the presenter of the latter two, she interviewed around 3,000 different artists from Brazil and around the world for over 700 programs.
Her resume includes collaborating on book publications of short stories and poetry, curating literature for the Biennial of the Book and TV Globo, communication consulting, newspaper columns, scripts for musicals and theater plays, musical compositions, and artistic direction for shows, albums, and music videos.
Her book “Só” (Alone) was a finalist for the Nestlé Literature Award.
In 2022, she released the book "Caderno de Costuras" (Sewing Notebook) and co-founded the "Serve para Poesia" (Made for Poetry) project with other partners.
