Ocean advocate Philippe Cousteau will be the keynote speaker at a pilot training programme designed to help Bermudians learn more about ocean policy and finance.

Mr Cousteau, the grandson of oceanographer and film-maker Jacques Cousteau, is the founder of EarthEcho International, which was set up "to empower youth to take action that protects and restores our water planet“.

Mr Cousteau is to serve as a mentor to interns taking part in the Young Leaders in Ocean Governance programme, which begins on June 23.

The ten-week course will introduce Bermudians aged 18 to 26 to careers in sustainable project financing.

Mr Cousteau is also the chief executive and cofounder of Voyacy ReGen, which has pioneered coastal restoration technology for the past 25 years.

The firm is now bringing coastal infrastructure and coral regeneration to a commercial scale never before imagined to deliver critically needed capacity and deep restoration knowhow to market.

The curriculum was devised by Ela Gökçigdem in conjunction with the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Ms Gökçigdem is Turkey’s representative to the Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s youth policy advisory council and participated in the island’s Youth Climate Summit last year.

Noelle Young is the on-island co-ordinator. Ms Young is also a local consultant for Greenpeace UK, and represented Bermuda at the Younga youth environmental delegation and the 2023 Conference of the Parties summit on Climate Changein Dubai.

The course consists of four hours of online learning per week and one weekly in-person session held at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Interns from reinsurance company Axa XL, the Government’s Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Economic Development and the Bermuda Ocean Sciences Institute have signed up for the course, although there are still places available.

Ms Young said that, because of the island’s marine environment and robust reinsurance sector, Bermuda was positioned to lead the way in a rapidly expanding industry worth billions of dollars.

She added: “Bermuda can serve as an example to the world because it checks all the boxes when it comes to empowering the next generation of leaders in the field of ocean sustainability projects.

“They will have the knowledge to understand how to finance coral restoration projects and what will need to be insured.”

Ms Young also praised the Government for endorsing the course and thanked Bios for its support.

Ms Gökçigdem hoped the programme could change the lives of people on the island and provide them with more opportunities to enter career fields within the ocean space.

She said that there was “little to no Bermuda representation” at a Blue Economy and Finance forum last week in Monaco — and that needed to change.

She added that course participants needed to be “locally minded but globally aware”.

“We’re hoping that this course will provide a stepping stone for Bermudians to get into the industry,” she said.

“Ocean insurance is growing in the billions of dollars. Because of its environment and its thriving insurance sector, we think that Bermuda can become a world leader in this field.”

Young Leaders in Ocean Governance was recognised at a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ​conferences and acknowledged as one of the ​first training programmes for youth ​on ocean affairs.

As a case ​study, it featured at COP29 in ​Baku, Azerbaijan, last year.

• To learn more about the programme and to register, visit youngoceanleaders.org or e-mail info@youngoceanleaders.org