The research teams from CO>SEA and the EU Horizon project PartArt4OW, led by Dr. Chiara Certomà and Dr. Federico Fornaro, made a significant impact at the Royal Geographical Society with IBG Annual Conference 2025 (RGS AC2025). The event served as a platform for the teams to premiere a new documentary, showcase their multidisciplinary approach to marine social geography, and demonstrate the power of visual and creative methods in scientific research and public engagement.
A Trilogy of Documentaries and a New Premiere
A key highlight of the conference was the world premiere of the short documentary, “Around Alone. Documenting Ocean Relationships,” presented by Dr. Certomà and Dr. Federico Fornaro during the “Film Geography” session on August 27. The film follows Roman navigator Matteo Miceli on a self-sufficient world voyage aboard the Eco40 vessel, exploring the high seas as a space rich with cultural and symbolic meaning.
This new film is the third in a series, joining two other documentaries also screened at the conference:
- "Blue Kinships. Documenting Ocean Relationships"
- "The Sense of Place. Documenting Ocean Relationships"
These films, produced in collaboration with projects like PartArt4OW and the UN Ocean Decade Program, exemplify a pioneering approach to marine social geography. The creative collaboration between Dr. Certomà's academic research and Dr. Fornaro's visual storytelling expertise highlights the transformative potential of film in understanding the complex relationship between society and the ocean.
Visual Methods as Core Research
During their presentation, Dr. Certomà and Dr. Fornaro explained that their use of filmmaking goes beyond mere communication. For them, visual documentation is a fundamental research practice. They explained how it can stimulate debate, make the ocean environment accessible to a wider audience, and provide a compelling narrative for the entire research process. They stressed that visual techniques possess a unique "heuristic power" that alters perspectives and enriches scientific discourse by offering insights that traditional methods might miss.
This methodological approach was further demonstrated by the photographic exhibition “An intimate connection. Society and the Ocean in Water Photography,” by Giuseppe Lupinacci. The exhibition, part of the PartArt4OW project, featured photos that visually explored how people connect with the turbulent, fluid ocean environment, a topic also addressed in the book “Blue Kinships. An Exploration of Society & the Ocean,” edited by Dr. Certomà.
A Broader Contribution to the Academic Community
The team's presence extended beyond the film screenings. On August 28, Dr. Certomà and Dr. Fornaro led a broader presentation, “CO>SEA. Creative experimentations with visual methods in Marine Social Geography,” to discuss how creative practices and cross-sectoral collaboration can advance theoretical and methodological development in their field. Their contributions continued on August 29, when they co-organized a session titled “Where Art meets Science for Our Ocean and Seas” and participated in a workshop on “On the sea edge: creative approaches to marine and coastal future.”
The strong collaborative showing by Dr. Certomà and Dr. Federico Fornaro at the RGS AC2025 underscored their shared vision: to use creative and visual methods to forge new pathways in marine social geography and inspire a deeper, more emotional connection between humanity and the ocean.