Prioritizing Paradise: Water/Wo/Men Line-Up Announced
Posted in events hints of inspiration by on Sep 20 2011
Paradise…clear waters, abundant marine life, long white beaches that stretch to nowhere. That is what many of us think of, but for some, paradise would be just simple access to clean water and sanitation. Whatever your definition of paradise, we all know that it is a state of comfort and happiness that all beings (and creatures!) deserve to experience in their lifetime.
Here on site on Laamu and preparing for Six Senses Water/Wo/Men, this attention to the importance of raising awareness for global marine preservation and water sanitation issues is on our agenda, daily. In ten days, Six Senses Laamu (Maldives), in partnership with +H20, will host over fifty international changemakers convening on the island, an inspiring collection of iconic water sports athletes, leading conservationists and activists, award-winning filmmakers, celebrities and media, all coming together to utilize the power of collaboration to facilitate change, on a local to global level. Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton, Daryl Hannah, Fabien Cousteau, Bollywood filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, National Geographic explorer Jon Bowermaster, windsurfing movie star Levi Siver, wakeboarding stuntman Duncan Zuur, Japanese filmmaker and champion surfer Takuji Masuda…the list continues and is inspiring and expansive! (see below for full listing and bios)
From this year forward, Six Senses Water/Wo/Men at Laamu offers an innovative, meaningful opportunity to play in the Indian Ocean among living water sports legends…while also playing a unique part to move our global community toward action in protecting and preserving our marine environments and providing safe drinking water to those in need.
Gatherings like Six Senses Water/Wo/Men are of extreme importance on both a local and global scale; boosting international awareness, addressing challenges through smart dialogue, mobilizing people with power, and creating synergy and strategy to move forward toward positive change.
Read on to learn about the amazing people who will be on Laamu, and about their work. Spread the word and be a part of the action! Follow us on: http://www.facebook.com/positiveH2O and http://www.facebook.com/SixSensesLaamu.
You can refer to our ebrochure for more information and to see a calendar of events: Six Senses Water/Wo/Men.
WATER/WO/MEN 2011, presented by Six Senses Resorts & Spas and in partnership with+H20, will unite the world’s greatest water sport icons together with marine and water conservationists in an event that raises funds and awareness for marine preservation, coral restoration and clean water and sanitation projects. Joining them from September 30- October 4th at the prestigious Six Senses Resort & Spa Laamu, Maldives will be musicians, artists, celebrities, guests and media for five days of water exhibitions, clinics, eco-activities, one-on-one teaching opportunities, conservation debates, movie screenings, delicious meals and festivities. Proceeds from guest stays will benefit Plant a Fish Foundation founded by Fabien Cousteau; Water Charity founded by Averill Strasser; and Blue Marine Foundation founded by Chris Gorell Barnes.
WATER/WO/MEN ATHLETES
Layne Beachley
Layne Beachley started surfing when she was just four years old, after she showed natural ability and balance on a skateboard. She entered her first surf contest at 14 and turned professional at the age of 16. By the age of 20 she was ranked sixth in the world. Beachley became the Women’s ASP World Champion in 1998, and won the title again in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006. She is the first woman in history to gain 7 World Championships, six of them consecutive. In 2004, Layne was given a wildcard entry into the Energy Australia Open held at Newcastle, one of the rare occasions a woman has competed in a men’s surfing event.
Pascal Bronnimann
Pascal is a Swiss dreadlocked phenomenon who learned windsurfing from his mother 29 years ago and has been windsurfing ever since. He won first place in the Diamond Head Pro-Am for 1999 and 2000, but after a successful few years in competition, he opted to retire into freesurf and management. He moved from the island of Oahu to call Maui home. He serves as sales manager for Quatro International and Goya Windsurfing, recognizing the value of corporate marketing efforts within the industry. He is a founder of +H20 and loves spending time with his son Fynn, an up and coming waterman himself.
Alex Caizergues
After graduating with a degree in marketing from the Marseille Business School in 2002, Alex started kiteboarding and within three years he was taking part in his first kitespeed competition. It did not take long for him to rise to the top. In 2006, he became the Vice World Champion. He continued his success with three world titles in a row- 2007, 2008 and 2009. In addition to seeking world championships, he’s also chasing speed records. In 2008 and 2010, he beat the world speed sailing record, and in 2010 for the first time in sailing history he broke the 100 km/h barrier (Luderitz, Namibia). Alex was born in Marseille in 1979 and raised in Port-Saint-Louis, which is where he now calls home.
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton has become a source of inspiration to millions through her story of faith, determination and hope. Born into a family of surfers in 1990 on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany won her first surf competition at the age of 8. At the age of thirteen, Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing off Kauai’s North Shore. The attack left Bethany with a severed left arm. Miraculously, just one month after the attack, Bethany returned to the water to continue pursuing her goal to become a professional surfer. In January of 2004, Bethany made her return to surf competition; placing 5th in the Open Women’s division of that contest. With no intention of stopping, Bethany continued to enter and excel in competition. Just over a year after the attack she took 1st place in the Explorer Women’s division of the 2005 NSSA National Championships – winning her first National Title. In 2007, Bethany realized her dream and turned pro. Bethany has since participated in numerous ASP and World Tour Events with her major highlight being a second place finish in the ASP 2009 World Junior Championships.
In October 2004, Bethany shared her life story in her autobiography entitled Soul Surfer. The book was released as a major motion picture by Sony Pictures in April 2011. Other books Bethany has written include “Devotions for the Soul Surfer,” “Rise Above,” A “Soul Surfer” Bible, “Ask Bethany,” and “Clash,” “Burned,” “Storm,” and “Crunch.” Further, Bethany was the inspiration behind Becky Baumgartner’s 2007 documentary entitled Heart of a Soul Surfer.
Burton Dean “Buzzy” Kerbox
Buzzy Kerbox began his life as a waterman at Waikiki at the age of 11. He proved himself in local contests and, in 1974, won the Smirnoff Pro Am. On Oahu’s North Shore, Buzzy progressed to the semi finals at Sunset Beach and the awards kept coming. Soon to be 10th in the world ranking, Buzzy had become one of the elite pioneers of the world circuit, remaining in the top 16 for many years. In 1978 he won the World Cup at Sunset Beach, finishing 6th in the IPS World Title Rankings, then struck again down under winning the 1980 Surf a Bout in Sydney, Australia.
Twenty-one years into this odyssey, Buzzy cemented his own place in surf history when he and Laird Hamilton began to experiment towing each other into gigantic Phantoms and Outside Backyards in an inflatable boat on the North Shore. By 1993 they had refined this new approach and decamped to Maui in search of the Unridden Realm. In opening Jaws to the surfing world, their tow-in approach to tackling massive waves has changed big wave riding forever.
While he was out of the water, Buzzy found time to become one of the first icons of extreme sports. Splashed in the pages of Vogue Magazine in 1978, Ralph Lauren chose him as the face of Polo Sport for more than quarter of century. Now 50, and charging a little less harder, Buzzy is discovering life on the other side of the lens and never goes anywhere without his camera.
Takuji Masuda
Takuji Masuda is a surfer, writer and filmmaker who merges his love for the ocean with a passion for media efforts and raising awareness for important issues. Raised in Kamakura, Japan, he was schooled in St Michael University School, Victoria BC and received a BA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He is a former ASP competitor (highest ranking was 5th in the 1994 Biarritz Surf Festival) and also JPSA Grand Champion in 2001. He self-published SUPER X magazine from 1996-2001 and COMBINE in 2003. He produced the book Bunker Spreckels, Surfing’s Divine Prince of Decadence in 2007, a story on the brief life of the surfing legend and international playboy. His film highlights include directing Yuzen on Surf in 2003 and Origin of Blue (Sony Music Entertainment) in 2000.
Jake Miller
Jake Miller brings 18 years of windsurfing experience to +H2O, complemented by impressive multi-media skills, specializing in video production and contest organization. A Windsurfing pro, he won the last two years of the Men’s Gorge Freestyle Frenzy. He also contributed to the first livestreaming webcast from Hookipa, Jaws and Hood River, Oregon and his video work is featured in The Windsurfing Movie, The Windsurfing Movie 2, Four Dimensions and Epicsessions.tv. Jake has been a professional windsurfer and waterman for the past 11 years and is excited to incorporate the philosophy of +H2O into is daily life and the Water/Wo/Men event.
Tripoli Patterson
Tripoli Patterson starting surfing at the age of eight, and once he hit the waves it’s been hard to stop him. He won 2nd place in Menehunes at the East Coast Championships and continued competing for the New York State surf team for many years, maintaining his first place NYS title in Menehunes, Boys, and Jr. Men. Trip then moved to Bali, Indonesia, with his family at the age 13. He had the opportunity to go to G-Land, where he surfed big waves and was inspired by established international surfers. Trip spent his twenties between Bali, the Hamptons, New Zealand, Santa Cruz, California and the North Shore of Oahu, surfing every spot along the way.
Since 2005, Trip has combined his love of surfing with his love of fine art by organizing, producing and curating art shows. He has shown the work of surf legend, Herbie Fletcher, as well as Danny Fuller, Lisa de Kooning and many other established and emerging artists. In 2009, he opened the Tripoli Gallery of Contemporary Art on Job’s Lane in Southampton, New York. He has continued to curate exhibitions there, as well as being called upon to curate private shows in New York City and, most recently, a benefit and silent auction for Planned Parenthood at the Bridgehampton Surf Club, which raised over $200,000. His recent solo exhibition for Lola Schnabel was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal.
Mark Shinn
Mark was born in 1972 on the south coast of the UK. After trying many watersports including surfing, sailing and windsurfing he moved to Tenerife, Canary Islands to pursue his dreams of year round conditions. In 1999 he was exposed to kiteboarding for the first time and was immediately hooked. In 2000, he competed on the first World Tour of kiteboarding finishing a respectable 2nd, as he did also in 2001. In 2002, Mark became World Champion in both the World Tours of Kiteboarding and also won the prestigious Red Bull King of the Air event in Maui. After 10 years of touring Mark is happy to be once again based full time in Tenerife and guiding the development of his brand “Shinn.”
Levi Siver
Dubbed the “King of Style” by the international media, Levi Siver has the ability to draw flawless lines and create smooth, inspired maneuvers which he says comes from the inspiration he gathers from snowboarding and surfing. Levi Siver is one of the most established extreme windsurfing icons in the world, having conquered many waves windsurfing that many surfers would not even imagine tackling, including the infamous JAWS. He is a distinguished participant in the Professional Windsurfing Association World Wave Tour and a famed Red Bull Rider. Levi co-starred and produced in the biggest windsurfing film to date The Windsurfing Movie 2 a follow-up to his role in 2007′s genre-defining The Windsurfing Movie, a film that won best director and best soundtrack at the X-Dance awards in 2007. He recently starred and produced Oxbow’s Walls of Perception. He is a founder of +H20.
Keith Teboul
In addition to being one of the top windsurfers in the world, Keith Teboul is recognized as being the top windsurfing board shaper in the world, with a client list that profiles some of the most extreme and talented watermen on the circuit today. He has been windsurfing for 28 years and is originally from Madagascar. Keith was a featured athlete in The Windsurfing Movie 2. When Keith is not at the shop, you can find him at the celebrated Ho’okipa surf spot on the North Shore of Maui or chasing waves in the most exotic locations in the world. He is a founder of +H20.
Terry ”Simba” Simms
Terry Simms, “surf coach to the stars,” has been surfing for over forty-five years, transferring his love for the sport to thousands of people around the world as a surf ambassador and instructor. Born in 1959 on the sunny shores of California in Pacific Beach, it did not take long for this natural to turn pro and from 1986-1999 he competed in the PSAA & ASP long board division. In 1995, he was ranked in the top 15 in the world. In 1997, he was featured in four international cover photos…twice in Surfers Journal and once each in Longboard Magazine and Pacific Longboarder Magazine. He started his private surf lesson company in 1997 and loves to take adventurers on surf trips around the world. He lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife and newborn baby girl.
Sherry Tsai
Sherry Tsai is a three-time Olympic swimmer from Hong Kong. She swam at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She won Hong Kong’s Best Swimmer Award 9 times, and at one time held 18 Hong Kong Records. At the 2004 Olympics, she was Hong Kong’s flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony. She was born in 1983 in Hong Kong and studied at Diocesan Girls’ School. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor’s Degree and received a Master’s Degree in Sport Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2010.
Anna von Boetticher
Anna von Boetticher has been diving most of her life. She started her underwater journey with a first scuba course in the freezing, dark waters of lake Constance at only seventeen years of age. The professional levels followed and she has worked as an instructor and dive guide around the world. In 2001 she continued her training to dive to depths below 100m using trimix, a blend of air and helium. To gain a better understanding of herself under water in these potentially dangerous situations, she took a course in basic freediving in April 2007 and was immediately fascinated by the sport. After just six months, she broke all three German depth records and won a bronze medal in the 2007 AIDA world championships in Sharm El Sheikh.
Since then, she has carried on setting national records and breaking them, and has successfully represented Germany in several world championships. She holds the German records in six disciplines and was the first German woman to reach 100m last year. She is currently training to break the world record (126m) in the discipline variable weight, where the diver descends with a weighted sled but must return to the surface himself.
Duncan Zuur
O’Neill team rider and top international wakeboarder Duncan Zuur is one of the most successful wakeboarders to come out of Europe. After establishing himself as an ever-present threat on the competitive wakeboard scene on both a national and international scale, Zuur has become well-known for pulling off audacious stunts, including wakeboarding across a flooded St. Mark’s Square in Venice and carving his way down the narrow canals of Amsterdam. Born in Sydney, Australia, Duncan is more at home on water than on land- something that his list of accomplishments seems to support. From national championship titles to World Championship medal positions, Zuur has only just begun.
WATER/WO/MEN CONSERVATIONISTS
Jon Bowermaster
Jon Bowermaster is a writer, filmmaker and adventurer. Jon’s recently concluded OCEANS 8 project took him and his teams around the world by sea kayak during the past ten years, on expeditions ranging from the Aleutian Islands to Vietnam, French Polynesia to Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, Gabon to Croatia and Tasmania to Antarctica. Seeing the world from the seat of a sea kayak has given Jon a one-of-a-kind look at both the health of the planet’s ocean and the lives of the nearly 3 billion people around the globe who depend on them.
An eight-part film series documenting the OCEANS 8 project has shown in 150 countries on the National Geographic Channel. His most recent documentaries are “Terra Antarctica, Rediscovering the Seventh Continent,” “What Would Darwin Think? Man v. Nature in the Galapagos” and “SoLa, Louisiana Water Stories.”
Jon’s website and blog (Notes from Sea Level, www.jonbowermaster.com) continues his reporting on the world’s coastlines, the people who live along them and issues of importance to anyone interested in and concerned about the planet’s oceans.
Author of eleven books, his most recent are “Descending the Dragon” about his travels in Vietnam published by National Geographic Books and “Wildebeest in a Rainstorm,” a collection of profiles of our most intriguing conservationists and explorers and published by Menasha Ridge Press. His companion book to the new Jacques Perrin/DisneyNature film “Oceans” was published alongside the premiere of the film on Earth Day, April 2010. Jon lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Chris Gorell Barnes
Chris Gorell Barnes is the Executive Producer of The End of the Line and Co-Founder of the BLUE Marine Foundation. BLUE exists to fix the largest solvable problem on the planet – the crisis in the oceans. BLUE enables new partnership opportunities for the sea, working with the private sector to raise critical funds for marine conservation, and with governments to construct the right legislative framework for success.
Chris was Executive Producer on the acclaimed film ‘The End of the Line’, the world’s first documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing. The film, coupled with Chris’s passion and belief in bringing together big business and good causes for mutual benefit, has already contributed to changes in fish sustainability policies of the British Government and major retailers, including Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Pret-a-Manger.
Chris is a recognised thought-leader in new media, technology and advertising and a leading voice in online video and the future of multichannel technology. He is CEO of Adjust Your Set and a Non Executive Director of Eagle Eye Solutions.
Jacqueline Chan
Jacqueline is co-founder and President of Water Charity. She graduated as a Doctor of Public Health from Loma Linda University, California. Jacky has a passion to discover and teach simple lifestyle practices so even the poorest might increase their access to optimal health and improved quality of life.
As a lifestyle research professor at Loma Linda University, her findings related to her particular interests, health benefits of pure water and sunshine (vitamin D), have been published in peer reviewed scientific journals. Her work also includes being a co-investigator in Adventist Health Study-2, a very large cohort of 97,000 participants from across the U.S. and Canada. Loma Linda is one of the nine worldwide “Blue Zones” known for the longevity of their inhabitants, as discovered by Dan Buettner with National Geographic.
She is excited to be working with Water Charity to make pure water available to those around the world who lack this most basic human right. Her recreational pursuits include swimming (especially at the beautiful beaches of Sydney, Australia), hiking, tennis, reading and gardening.
Fabien Cousteau
Fabien Cousteau is founder of Plant a Fish. Plant A Fish is an active, hands-on outdoor education and restoration experience that empowers communities and children to help restore their local water ecosystems through the healthy “replanting” of key marine species. Initial programmes include the restoring of oysters in New York’s Hudson River, mangroves in South Florida, sea turtles in the Gulf and El Salvador and corals in the Maldives.
Growing up on the salt-stained decks of his famous Grandfather’s ships, Calypso and Alcyone, Fabien Cousteau was destined to follow in the family footsteps of exploring and working tirelessly to protect our planet’s immense and endangered marine habitats. Having dived since age four, Fabien was irrevocably imprinted with an unwavering appreciation for the wonder, beauty, and importance of our aquatic ecosystems to sustaining life on our big blue planet.
In 2006, Fabien partnered with his father, Jean-Michel Cousteau, and sister, Celine, to complete a three-year multi-hour series for PBS called “Ocean Adventures.” Topics explored ranged from the Grey whale migration of the west coast of the Americas to the magical coral spawning of the Caribbean to diving with squadrons of goliath groupers to the ghost ships of the Great Lakes. Additional hours cover exotic places such as the Amazon, Samoa, Christmas Island, Papua New Guinea, the Arctic and many other wonders of nature.
An active writer, he is currently working on a children’s book trilogy. Fabien has been seen on network TV, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and as a regular guest/contributor to NBC’s Today Show.
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah has starred and acted in over forty films and has been an effective, passionate activist and advocate for a more ethical sustainable world for decades.
She is the founder of the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA), which is a certification program and set of best practices for sustainably produced, harvested and distributed biofuels.
She sits on the boards of the Environmental Media Association (EMA), Sylvia Earle Alliance, Mission Blue, the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and the Action Sports Environmental Coalition. She has received numerous awards for her advocacy and activism.
Daryl has been arrested three times for actions of conscience, first in an attempt to help save the South Central Farm and the other to try to usher in an end to Mountaintop Removal and most recently at the Whitehouse in Washington D.C., along with over 1200 other citizens, to try to stop the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline from getting approval.
In 2005 she created and designed dhlovelife.com, her website dedicated to sharing solutions on how to live more harmoniously with the planet and all other living things. The site features weekly five-minute inspirational video blogs which Daryl produces and films as well as daily news updates, alerts, community and access to goods and services.
Daryl has produced, hosted and shot numerous environmental awareness TV appearances; she has been a greening consultant for events and has done numerous speaking engagements and keynote speeches. She’s written articles on self-
sufficiency and sustainability for many magazines.
Daryl is a documentary and narrative filmmaker. Her short, The Last Supper, won a prize at the Berlin Film Festival among others. She produced, directed and shot the documentary Strip Notes and is editing a documentary at the moment on human trafficking.
She’s been actively practicing a low impact lifestyle for years, she’s writing a book, invented board games and toys, keeps bees, rescues stray animals, and loves music, hot springs, wild things and wilderness.
Prahlad Kakar
Prahlad Kakar is Advertising Film Director for Genesis Film Production, one of India’s oldest and foremost ad film production houses since its inception in 1977. Prahlad founded Genesis in 1977 and invented a genre of television advertising in India in the years that followed. Prahlad has ruled the advertising world with his brand of irreverent humor, memorable brand building campaigns and has created award-winning commercials for the most reputed corporations and agencies in India and the Asia Pacific region.
After having assisted renowned feature filmmaker, Mr. Shyam Benegal, he moved onto advertising films. Known as the “ad guru” he has been instrumental in changing the face of advertising in India, bringing in the appropriate “regional Indianess” and values into an urban context through his films, creative workshops, articles and interviews. He has won several awards for technical excellence, innovation and creativity in advertising over the years in India. Genesis won both Gold and Silver awards including ”Campaign of the Year” for the Pepsi commercials at AAAI in 1996.
His public service films for Ceat won awards in the New York Festival of Advertising. Commercials directed by Prahlad have also been nominated for Lions at Cannes. 30 years down the line Prahlad Kakar has earned himself a Lifetime Achievement Award by the IAAFA in the year 1999 and has got Genesis the top production House for 2 years in a row for years 2003 and 2004 by the Brand Equity.
He is also the co-founder member of Reef Watch Marine Conservation, involved in creating marine awareness, education, scientific research and documentation. Prahlad is a certified scuba diving instructor, successfully running ‘Lacadives’, the first scuba diving school in the Kadmat and Bangaram islands of Lakshadweep and in Wandoor, Andamans.
Mitali Dutt Kakar
Mitali Dutt Kakar, mother of 3, began her career in Advertising-Film Production 21 years ago. Today she runs her own Production House, Offspring, and is a Managing Partner in her husband’s film production house, Genesis. In addition, she has made pioneering efforts in the field of marine conservation as the Founder and Director of ReefWatch Marine Conservation. ReefWatch is involved in marine conservation through research, documentation and scientific support to administrative bodies such as the Government of India, international bodies, academic and other institutions.
A Scuba diver since 1989, and a diving instructor for over 10 years, her experiences directed her innate passion for Nature towards conservation of our fragile marine ecosystems. Mitali’s vision to translate this knowledge to popular understanding has led ReefWatch’s Capacity Building Programs and Education & Awareness campaigns at various levels ranging from schoolchildren to rural and tribal communities to Government Agencies. Mitali firmly believes that the core of all conservation efforts is in the perception of our environment as a whole, to which, education is the key.
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur is one of world’s most well known film directors and has worked extensively in India’s film Industry (Bollywood) as well as in Hollywood.
He started his film career with the Hindi film “Masoom” which went on to win 5 filmfare awards, the biggest awards in India, followed by “Mr. India,” which is considered an iconic film of India cinema. He then directed the critically acclaimed “Bandit Queen” which became an international success.
Kapur got international recognition for directing “Elizabeth,” which was nominated for 7 Oscars and won the Oscar for best make-up. He followed that by directing Heath Ledger in “The Four Feathers.” Kapur then executive produced “The Guru” starring Heather Graham. Kapur returned to direct Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” in the sequel to the original Elizabeth. Golden Age was nominated for 2 Oscars including Cate Blanchett for best actress, and won the Oscar for best costume design. He directed a segment of the film “New York, I love you” made by 12 internationally acclaimed directors which was similar in concept to the successful film “Paris, je t’aime.” He directed a short film “Passage” set in Buenos Aires which was commissioned by Swarovski and was then invited to do an installation based on the film at Swarovski’s Kristallwelten museum in Austria.
Shekhar recently produced the documentary “Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told” that was invited to the official selection of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was the festival’s most successful Saturday night premiere.
Shekhar is regularly invited to speak at the World Economic Forum. He is currently an environmental activist with water conservation related issues. He is also on the board of the International Global Water Challenge, the world’s premier body for water related issues.
Kapur is presently working on his passion project, “Paani” about the impending water wars in the world.
Abram Le Cerf
Abram is the Social and Environment Manager at Six Senses Laamu. In this role, Abram is responsible for all functions and activities related to Six Senses Laamu’s social and environmental aspects. He focuses on maintaining and improving the resort’s social and environmental standards and its sustainability performance.
Growing up in a culturally diverse rural area on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, Abram has had a keen interest in, and love for, the natural world and human cultures since childhood. In 2005 Abram undertook a Certificate IV in Tourism (Operations) and subsequently a Diploma in Tourism (Operations Management), graduating with distinction in both programs. He then went on to achieve a Bachelor of Environmental Tourism Management at Southern Cross University. Upon graduation Abram received The Judith McGilvray Memorial Prize for 2008, awarded to the graduating student with the best academic performance in the Bachelor of Environmental Tourism Management.
Upon completion of his bachelor degree, Abram undertook an internship with Borneo Eco Tours in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, where he worked to develop and fund community-based natural resource rehabilitation and conservation, and poverty alleviation initiatives. During his time in Borneo, Abram also conducted a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the sustainability performance of Sukau Rainforest Lodge, and prepared comprehensive recommendations for improvement.
In 2009, Abram travelled to Maldives where he worked as Assistant Lecturer, Course Coordinator – BTEC National Diploma in Travel and Tourism and Chair of Curriculum Committee, at The Maldives National University, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies. Abram’s key contribution to the university was to lead the faculty Curriculum Committee to develop Maldives’ first nationally administered Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management, before joining Six Senses Laamu in 2011.
Carl Gustaf Lundin
Carl Gustaf Lundin is the Director of the Global Marine Programme, International Union for the Conservation of Nature. His primary responsibility is to develop the program in four areas: marine protected areas; building partnerships for conservation of ecosystems and endangered marine species; sustainable fisheries management; and climate change effects on marine resources. He is responsible for all aspects of managing the program as well as fundraising and development of public information materials.
Before joining IUCN he worked with the World Bank for more than 12 years. His primary focus was coastal and marine management issues in several regions of the world including Argentina Coastal Contamination and Marine Pollution project; China Coastal Development Project; Eritrea Port Project; Indonesia Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project; Mexico’s Natural Protected Areas Project 1 + 2; Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Project; Aquaculture Development Project; Seychelles Biodiversity and Marine Pollution Project; and the Uruguay Maritime Management Project. He has worked on a wide range of reports and publications in this field as well. He received a Bachelors degree in Biology from Uppsala University in his native Sweden, and a Licentiate in Philosophy, Natural Resources Management, from Stockholm University.
Michaela Merten
The actress and bestselling author Michaela Merten is over 20 years a fixture in the film and TV area, she completed her acting training at the renowned Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna. At the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, she received her dance training.
Her theater career began at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna. She earned her great popularity with the TV series (Sat 1) “Katrin is the best.” From the magazine TV-New she was voted the most popular German actress in 1999. In recent years she excelled e.g. in Int. Co-productions and TV series.
Her area of interest in naturopathy and alternative healing methods led her to attend various therapy training. She attracted attention with her, with the “trend-price” excellent water-glass collection “Water Balance”, which was launched by the renowned Spiegelau crystal glass factory on the market. With the company Vita Juwel another design innovation was brought to market: VitaJuwel by MM Archangel Edition.
Arnfinn Oines
Arnfinn Oines works as Social & Environmental Conscience for Six Senses Resorts & Spa. He is overlooking the responsible business practices at Six Senses, which have received numerous environmental awards including the prestigious World Travel & Tourism Council’s Tourism for Tomorrow Award 2008. He oversees the operational resorts and supports the new projects are being developed in line with the company value known as SLOW LIFE™ (Sustainable-Local-Organic-Wholesome Learning-Inspiring-Fun- Experiences).
Arnfinn has been involved in implementing and establishing the Six Senses Carbon Calculator, Six Senses Clean Water Projects, Six Senses Reforestation Project, The SLOW LIFE Trust, Six Senses SLOW LIFE Symposium and the groups Social & Environmental PnPs.
He joined Six Senses in 2005 and set up an Environmental Management System, which led Evason Phuket to become the first resort in South East Asia to become Earth Check Certified. Arnfinn was also heavily involved in the development Earth Check’s Sector Benchmark Indicators for Spa Operations, world’s first ecolabel for spas.
Arnfinn co-founded and opened Earthworkers Hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia as General Manager for a year. He also worked as Course Director for International Tourism Institute in Andalusia, Spain. He holds a BA in Adventure Tourism Management and MBA in Hospitality & Tourism.
Callum Roberts
Callum Roberts is a marine scientist and conservationist at the University of York in England and author of The Unnatural History of the Sea. His book charts the effects of 1000 years of hunting and fishing on ocean life and won the 2008 Rachel Carson Environment Book Award of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Callum’s research has revealed the extraordinary rise and fall of fisheries over the last 200 years, but also shows how life can make a remarkable comeback after protection is granted. His team at York provided the scientific case for the world’s first network of high seas marine reserves in the North Atlantic that in 2010 placed nearly 300,000km2 of ocean under protection. Callum works with many environmental charities and is a WWF UK Ambassador, trustee of Seaweb, Fauna and Flora International and Blue Marine Foundation, and advisor to Save our Seas. His next book, The Ocean of Life, explores how the oceans are changing under human influence and will be published in 2012.
Averill Strasser
Averill is an attorney, systems engineer, and mechanical engineer. He co-founded and runs Water Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that does water, sanitation, and public health projects worldwide. In the past 3 years, Water Charity has undertaken over 500 projects in 60 countries, the majority of them in partnership with Six Senses.
He previously practiced law in Beverly Hills, for over 20 years, specializing in litigation. He served as Senior Environmental Planner in the Mayor’s Office of the City of Los Angeles, designing environmental systems and implementing the Model Cities Program. He also served as a Planner in the City Manager’s Office of the City of Compton, where he wrote legislation and founded the Housing Authority. As Professor of Engineering at the University of San Andres in La Paz, Bolivia, he led students in the implementation of water projects in various parts of the interior.
He enjoys hang gliding, skiing, tennis, swimming, kayaking, hiking, and other fun activities in the great outdoors.
Jim Thebaut
Jim Thebaut is an accomplished and experienced CEO, President with expertise and extensive achievements as an environmental planner, journalist, Executive Producer of documentaries, educator, world traveler and ambassador of diplomacy and a public policy expert.
As Chief Executive Officer, President and Executive Producer of the Chronicles Group, Inc, a non profit 501 (c) (3) Corporation he’s influencing critical public policy about the threat of the evolving global humanitarian water crisis and its dire effect on international security. He has managed multi-disciplinary teams and created the public information education documentary feature projects THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST: ARE WE RUNNING DRY?, RUNNING DRY and THE COLD WAR AND BEYOND.
Most importantly, he organized two significant Capital Hill Events on February 2005 and May 2007 and his public policy leadership and vision led to the enactment of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act which authorizes funding for water and sanitation in developing nations. Furthermore, on July 28th, 2009 he organized National Water Policy Event at Capital Visitor Center on Capital Hill.
As President of Jim Thebaut Associates and Vice president, Environmental Services for Northwest Environmental Technology Labs, Thebaut managed multi-disciplinary technical teams through successful execution of complex projects in the Pacific Northwest. He managed teams of scientists, sociologists, economists and other experts and accomplished hundreds of environmental impact statements, energy and regional planning studies which has led to major public policy and a model for groundbreaking environmental analysis. Specifically, he managed the first programmatic environmental impact statement ever accomplished in the United States, THE ENERGY 1990 STUDY which established energy conservation policy in the City of Seattle and Pacific Northwest.
Also as an Executive Producer/Producer and journalist, Jim Thebaut has strived to educate, motivate and entertain diversified international audiences through his socially significant and acclaimed films. He has been affiliated and produced for CBS, ABC News, HBO, The Arts & Entertainment Network, Public Television and his films have been distributed and broadcast throughout the world.
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Six Senses is a world leader in creating enlightening and nourishing luxury travel experiences that rejuvenate and refresh, focusing on the delivery of all of the beauties of clean living and the slow life to a discerning, conscious and aware customer.
+H20 is a platform for water awareness that brings together a community of athletes, conservationists, non-profits and corporations to create purposeful solutions that facilitate positive change on a local to global scale. Leveraging the visibility of professional athletes combined with a mission for the greater good, +H20 was founded by watermen Levi Siver, Pascal Bronnimann, Jake Miller and Keith Teboul and is based on Maui, Hawaii. The +H20 network celebrates water sports and extends inspiration for clean living practices that are in support of health, wellness and environmental balance.
