Since 2016, MUI has organized a community festival in Laamu Atoll with the aim of raising awareness of and increasing protection for sea turtles. In its first year, the Laamu Turtle Festival brought thousands of people together to pledge 'Turtles in Laamu – Safe and Protected'. In 2019, MUI recognized the growing need to raise awareness about the conservation of entire marine ecosystems and the services they provide, in order to safeguard the Maldives from the negative effects of climate change or unsustainable practices. That is why, in 2019, local stakeholders in Laamu Atoll voted to broaden the scope of the 4th annual festival to Laamafaru Festival, or ‘Laamu’s Reefs Festival’ in Dhivehi, with the theme 'Our Ocean – Safe and Protected'.
2019
This community event grew from 500 attendees at the first ever atoll-wide turtle festival in 2016, to over 1,500 participants from across Laamu Atoll in 2019. The festival, which was held on Laamu Maamendhoo, kicked off with an opening ceremony and speech by chief guest and one of the Maldives’ first team sport gold medal winners, Rafa Nazim. The 16-year old table tennis star emphasized the power of young people to make a difference in their communities and led the participants in a sea creature parade and #ClimateStrikeMV. Festival attendees had an important message: “Laamu’s habitats of coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves protect our islands against climate change!” The march was part of the global movement of over 4 million people, initiated by another 16-year old, climate activist, Greta Thunberg.
MUI, along with Maldives Whaleshark Research Project, Maldives National Defence Force, and the Environmental Protection Agency, organized interactive activity stalls themed around these three important ecosystems in Laamu. School students performed The Laamu Story, a collection of significant natural and historical heritage skits about each of their islands, and competed in Laamu’s first atoll-wide swim race. Finally, through a generous grant from Blueyou Consulting and support from Mares, MUI was able to donate 15 sets of snorkeling equipment to each of Laamu’s 13 schools, ensuring students will be able to explore their island’s marine ecosystems whenever they want!
2020
Due to the pandemic, 2020’s physical event was postponed; however, the MUI team believed this was a crucial time to adapt as a community and find new ways of coming together, educating each other and keeping marine conservation as a priority. Thus, in December 2020, MUI decided against canceling the festival and instead launched a virtual alternative through a community-driven social media campaign under the theme ‘Eku Eky Dhas Kerama’, which translates to ‘learning from each other’.
The #LaamafaruFestival2020 campaign aimed to empower Laamu Atoll’s community to utilize digital communication for educating and inspiring one another, despite the uncertainty and travel restrictions. Each island in the atoll is unique and home to incredible biodiversity, cultural sites and local stories. This campaign served as an opportunity for Laamu’s community to learn more from each other about their surroundings and how they can better protect them.
#LaamafaruFestival2020 successfully reached over 38,000 people and had over 11,000 views. 80% of the audience which interacted with the campaign were local, thus it successfully reached the audience the team was aiming to address. Six local news websites also published articles about the campaign and its successes, hopefully inspiring other atolls in the country to follow suit. During a time when so many other educational events we’re being canceled or postponed in the conservation industry, this campaign highlighted the importance of innovation and resilience in a time of uncertainty.
2021
In 2021, with local travel restrictions in place, the resort team and local stakeholders came together to think of alternative arrangements for the festival given that inter-island travel was restricted. The solution was that on Saturday, November 6th, 2021, seven different Laamafaru Festivals took place simultaneously on different islands around Laamu Atoll. By running sperate festivals every student, teacher and parent in each school had the opportunity to participate. In years previous, participant numbers were limited to boat availability and transport requirements to and from the festival. Because of this, the 2021 Laamafaru Festivals reached thousands of community members- more than ever before.
Each of the seven Laamafaru festivals were run independently but saw similar activities which raised awareness of how incredible Laamu’s marine life is and why it is so important to protect. The educational activities which were planned by the resort team taught participants about marine protected areas- a timely subject as the Maldivian government are set to designate several marine protected areas in the atoll in the weeks to come. These activities included speeches, debates and performances by students, teachers, principles and local fishers. The kids battled it out in competitions including sand sculptures, plastic up-cycling and poster making. Many schools also organized clean ups where students and community members collected any trash on local beaches or harbors, both helping their local environments and gaining an understanding of what a major issue waste management is in the Maldives.
