Spotlight: Meet inspiring OZEAON

Connecting ocean knowledge, community, and action

Over the years, Ocean Community has grown into a diverse network of members working across ocean research, innovation, and sustainability. Through our Community Spotlight series, we highlight founders and initiatives shaping new pathways for impact. This time, we’re spotlighting OZEAON, a platform exploring how open knowledge, community participation, and emerging technologies can help ocean research and ideas move closer to real-world impact.

OZEAON aims to connect researchers, students, educators, creators, and supporters in one shared space, enabling them to share research, develop early ideas, and collaborate on projects that address ocean and sustainability challenges.

What makes the platform different is that it doesn’t rely on traditional gatekeepers. Instead, when someone learns, helps review research, supports a project with funding or feedback, shares useful content, they earn digital tokens— a way to show credibility, experience, and commitment.

The platform supports many types of contributions:

• Academic and laboratory research;

• Small conservation and community projects;

• Early-stage ideas that that need encouragement, feedback, and community support;

• Podcasts, documentaries, tutorials, and courses.

  
  

In simple terms, OZEAON is building a shared space where ocean knowledge, creativity, and funding opportunities meet, helping good ideas grow.

What inspired you to launch? Any challenges you faced that you felt needed a solution?

According to the founder, Joseph Frederick Flynn: "OZEAON began taking shape during my Master’s in Contemporary Art back in 2016, when I wanted to create a platform for students, professionals, and academics to share, review, and exchange knowledge outside closed institutional systems. Over time, alongside a growing focus on regenerative innovation, sustainable development, and through my Master’s in Design for Health and Wellbeing, it became clear that the same structural problem existed far beyond the arts: valuable research and ideas were failing to translate into real-world impact.  

We were formed to address this gap by connecting education, research, community knowledge, and funding into a single ecosystem. The aim is to move beyond static content or isolated projects and instead enable a continuous cycle where knowledge informs action, action generates outcomes, and outcomes feed back into learning".

What is your market and who is your target audience?

As Joseph states, they operate at the intersection of ocean research, education, and early-stage sustainability innovation. The core audience includes researchers and scientists working on ocean-related topics, as well as students and universities looking for ways to share research, collaborate, and build practical experience beyond traditional academic pathways. Platform also works closely with early-stage innovators and project creators who are developing ocean and sustainability solutions and need a space to test ideas, gain visibility, and build credibility before approaching traditional funding. Alongside them, OZEAON attracts supporters, funders, and impact-driven investors who are interested in discovering credible projects at an earlier stage and engaging based on real contribution and engagement rather than pitch decks alone.

What positive impact did you make in 2025 that you are most proud of?

"2025 was a decisive year for OZEAON, our project received endorsement from the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, under the Early Career Ocean Professionals Programme. We participated in two major accelerator programmes, ClimateLaunchpad 2025 and the Go-Together EdTech Accelerator by DOHE.

These experiences strengthened our business strategy, governance approach, and, critically, helped me understand that OZEAON could not be built alone. The year ended with a multidisciplinary team of around 20 developers, designers, educators, and advisors working together.

Alongside this, targeted training in sustainability leadership, blue economy strategy, regenerative aquaculture, ethical technology, and blockchain governance helped shape the platform’s design and values. OZEAON was also exhibited at the H2O and Sustainability Summit and presented at Web Summit Lisbon, where we received strong interest from students, researchers, and professionals.

Perhaps most importantly, 2025 marked the transition from vision to execution. OZEAON is now fully under development, supported by a committed team, strong institutional validation, and a clear path to launch."

How can or has Ocean Community helped you?

The collaboration between OZEAON and Ocean Community is still at an early stage and is developing naturally around shared interests and values. Through initial conversations and collaboration on the podcast, we’ve begun exploring practical ways to work together, exchange perspectives, and support each other’s work within the ocean innovation space.

Looking ahead, there is a clear potential of Ocean Community’s support in straightening the impact of the OZEAON platform, from community engagement and educational content creation to guidance around the platform’s launch and early execution.

📣✨Want to meet more of our inspiring impact builders? Stay tuned as we will be introducing them right here in the coming days!

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