The
Inspirations
Meet the people who inspire our water research journey
Boyan Slat
CEO of The Ocean Cleanup
Boyan Slat is a Dutch inventor and entrepreneur, passionate about creating megaprojects to address planetary problems. He is the founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup; a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. The organization aims to put itself out of business, with the goal of removing 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040.
Sylvia Earle
American marine biologist and oceanographer
Referred to as “Her Deepness,” National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the record for deepest walk on the sea floor and is a world-renowned expert on marine biology. The first woman to lead the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Earle advocates for ocean conservation and education.
Alexandra Cousteau
Filmmaker
Alexandra Marguerite Clémentine Cousteau is a filmmaker, sustainability keynote speaker and an environmental activist. Cousteau continues the work of her grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and father Philippe Cousteau.
Enric Sala
National Geographic Explorer in Residence
As a university professor, I saw myself writing the obituary of the ocean but not offering a cure. I left academia and founded National Geographic Pristine Seas, a project that combines exploration, research, and media to inspire the protection of the most vital places in the ocean. To date, Pristine Seas has worked with local communities, Indigenous Peoples, governments, and partners to help create 26 of the largest marine reserves on the planet, covering an area of 6.6 million square kilometers.
Li An Phoa
Founder Drinkable Rivers & Spring College; university teacher; watershed mobiliser; professional walker
She is the founder of Drinkable Rivers and Spring College. She studied business administration, philosophy, and whole systems ecology. Li An’s 1,000-kilometre walk along the river Meuse was the subject of the documentary Long Walk for Drinkable Rivers and she is a protagonist in the movie Our Blue World, a water odyssey. Together with Maarten van der Schaaf, she wrote the book Drinkable Rivers: How the river became my teacher. UvA and Do More for Water have recently joined the Drinkable Rivers Citizen Science programme and invite students and other people to monitor the local waters. Read more about her movement towards a world with drinkable rivers: https://drinkablerivers.org/