As part of the Festival of Cultures of the Biennale of Luanda 2021, discover the cultural content proposed by the Seychelles !
Enjoy your visit!
Seychelles - even the name alone evokes ideas of a remote island paradise, lined with palm trees, white sand, and turquoise ocean; of never-ending summer, a lightness of being, tropical scents, colours, and flavours. While all these things ring true, the Seychelles are so much more than that, being a truly varied and multi-faceted holiday destination.
Influenced by all corners of the world during our short history, the Seychelles culture has blended into a unique mix of 'Kreolite' that can be felt throughout your visit, on each and every island you step on.
Uniting to celebrate a huge milestone in our history, last August the Seychellois people marked Seychelles’ first steps towards nationhood 250 years ago.
One of the 20 films shortlisted for the Global Youth Video Competition.
On March 26, 2020, Seychelles announced the final details of Marine Protection Areas to reach its goal to protect 30 percent of its ocean. As part of the ground-breaking debt conversion deal co-designed by The Nature Conservancy, Seychelles committed to increasing its marine protection from just 0.04 percent of its Exclusive Economic Zone to a full 30 percent by 2020. Now, 410,000 square kilometers (158,000 square miles) — an area larger than Germany — will be fully or significantly safeguarded to encourage sustainable development and to adapt to the effects of climate change.
Departing from Mahé, Seychelles’ most populated island, the Pristine Seas team sailed 965 kilometers to the remote Outer Islands, stopping at Assumption, Cosmoledo, Astove, and Aldabra. The expedition was part of Pristine Seas, National Geographic’s largest initiative dedicated to environmental preservation, founded by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala in 2008.
Seychelles and The Nature Conservancy created the first-ever marine debt conversion and now, with the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT), funds are being put into blue grants that support conservation and sustainable uses of marine habitats. A new project by Green Islands Foundation works with artisanal fishermen to identify fish species that are in decline and develop solutions for managing these populations that conserve the nations’ biodiversity and blue economy.
The Seychelles National Climate Change policy was adopted in 2020 with the aim "to facilitate a coordinated coherent, proactive and effective response to the local, regional and global challenges and opportunities presented by Climate Change".
Voices of the youth
Vicky Alis and Jeremy Raguin organized the Local Conference of Youth and obtained the participation of more than 20 youths from various environmental organizations in the Seychelles. Matters raised were then brought forward in the Pre-Cop Youth4Climate conference held in Milan, Italy on the 28-30 September.
Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL) was introduced in 2011, encouraging the hospitality sector to operate in a more sustainable manner, and the Tourism Department has been working to mainstream climate change mitigation, adaptation and disaster and risk management into their policies and programs. Educational resources and outreach support by staff for hotels and guesthouses on climate change adaptation and disaster risk preparedness are available. The Tourism Department works in partnership with other government and civil society organisations to support climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives.
Mauritius and Seychelles prove that small can be beautiful for economic development, and not only because they have beautiful islands, which tourists flock to. Sustaining and expanding their economic development gains will require overcoming myriad challenges. Development partners, including the World Bank, can continue to help tackle these challenges and other countries can benefit from the knowledge generated by their progress, including placing the preservation of environmental assets at the heart of development strategy, as in Seychelles.
A new tide of innovation for reef-lined coasts seeks to build coastal resilience and blue growth
Flooding and erosion are growing problems for low lying coastal zones across the world. These phenomena are expected to worsen globally by 2-3 orders of magnitude by 2100. While today coral reefs act as natural infrastructure, protecting coastal communities against wave action and storm impacts, the reefs are suffering continuous degradation. The weakening of coral reefs is not only increasing coastal risks and the cost of coastal protection and adaptation, but resulting in a loss of natural capital and biodiversity.
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The ideas and opinions expressed on this page are those of the Member State; they do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO and the Organization hereby declines all liability. The designation employed and the presentation of material throughout the National Pavilion or this webpage do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Organization, concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.
