Mirpuri Foundation Awards 2025 Ocean Prize to CORDAP for Groundbreaking Coral Conservation Efforts.

The Mirpuri Foundation proudly presented the 2025 Mirpuri Foundation Ocean Award to the G20 Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP) at the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy Awards Ceremony held in Cascais, Portugal. The award recognised CORDAP’s outstanding global leadership in developing innovative, inclusive solutions to protect and restore coral reefs—one of the world’s most critical and endangered ecosystems.

Now in its fifth edition, the Mirpuri Foundation Ocean Award celebrates excellence in marine conservation and innovation. The award included a €10,000 prize, which this year will support CORDAP’s Coral Academy—a pioneering initiative aimed at training more than 1,500 coral reef restoration practitioners over the next five years.

“The Mirpuri Foundation created this award to champion bold, actionable ideas that can transform the future of our oceans,” said Dr. Paulo Mirpuri, President of the Mirpuri Foundation. “CORDAP’s Coral Academy perfectly embodies this vision by combining world-class science with on-the-ground training that empowers communities to lead in coral restoration.”

The Coral Academy equips local leaders, divers, and coastal community members with the latest skills and technologies in reef restoration, ensuring efforts are effective, inclusive, and scalable. With coral reefs under increasing pressure from marine heatwaves and rising ocean temperatures, the Academy plays a vital role in building global resilience.

“We are honoured to receive the 2025 Mirpuri Foundation Ocean Award, which will help power CORDAP’s Coral Academy — an ambitious initiative to train over 1,500 coral restoration practitioners, particularly from low- and middle-income countries, and support the restoration of 7,500 km² of coral reefs worldwide. This award will directly sponsor the training and capacity building of participants from the Global South. Together with the Mirpuri Foundation, we are building the skilled, diverse workforce the world needs to secure the future of coral reefs. There has never been a more urgent time to act.”, said Carlos Duarte, Executive Director of CORDAP.

The value of the Ocean Award will be used to train practitioners from Mozambique at the LMIC Global Training Hub. The Ambassador of Mozambique expressed gratitude on behalf of the nation, noting that this opportunity would not have been possible without the generous support of the Mirpuri Foundation.

The award presentation highlighted the Mirpuri Foundation’s ongoing commitment to ocean health, sustainability, and circular economy principles. Since its launch, the Ocean Award has supported high-impact projects addressing waste management, community engagement, and marine biodiversity conservation around the globe.

By honouring forward-thinking initiatives like CORDAP, the Mirpuri Foundation continues to lead by example in its mission to safeguard marine ecosystems and inspire global action.

Past Winners

2024

2023

2022 

 2021