Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020: Alessandra Conversi introduces the opening plenary speaker Nainoa Thompson

Senior Researcher Alessandra Conversi, in her role as co-chair of the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 in San Diego, introduces the opening plenary speaker, Nainoa Thompson to a room packed with more than 3000 marine scientists, on Feb 16 (*). Nainoa Thompson is the first native Hawaiian in 600 to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation, without the aid of modern instruments. His work has led to the cultural recovery of this navigation tradition, connected to the awareness of the value of ocean resources and of the climate change threat.

Nainoa Thompson is a Pwo navigator, as well as the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, a non-profit research and educational organization. His work has led to a renewed understanding and revival of a traditional navigating art that had been lost for centuries. Nainoa is the first Native Hawaiian in 600 years to practice this ancient Polynesian art of navigation, without the aid of modern instruments, using a profound knowledge of the ocean swell, coastal birds habits and the positions of the sun and the stars. He recently completed a four-year voyage around the world on the HMkkle»a, a traditional double-hulled canoe. Polynesian navigation embodies the oneness of self and the environment; it requires "m
lama (which in Hawaiian means care taking) of the canoe and the available resources, and it is a model for caring for the planet. Through his travels, Nainoa and his crew have engaged with thousands of people, including world leaders, to highlight the importance of ocean resources, cultural legacies, and their future protection.