Sea Nomads: Navigating the Past, Charting the Future of Maritime Culture

Five elderly sea nomads (Moken) women from Koh Surin sitting on white chairs on a sandy beach with greenery and water in the background

Our vision

is to become the authoritative global nexus where Sea Nomads knowledge meets critical academic research and effective international advocacyIt’s a global problem that requires global cooperation.

Our Goal

to ensure the self-determined future of Sea Nomads by facilitating a robust, equitable, and self-sustaining network.

Sama-Bajau Woman standing in shallow water, using a stick to work the mudflat, with a row of houses on stilts in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

History

The Sea Nomads Contact Group (SNCG) was officially founded in 2020, formalizing decades of separate work by its co-founders who shared a deep concern for coastal and small island customary communities. The SNCG was created specifically to fill a critical gap: addressing the consistent marginalization of Sea Nomads in both academic discourse and formal policy-making processes. Our approach is driven by scholar activism, utilizing an interdisciplinary blend of expertise to ensure our work directly supports community movements.

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A busy boat festival with numerous small boats crowded in a harbor, people dressed in colorful traditional and modern clothing, some wearing face masks and hats, many standing or sitting on boats or along the shoreline, and a backdrop of houses along the water's edge.

We designed for a formal "Contact Group" or "Working Group" that bridges academic research, community leadership, and international advocacy for Sea Nomads.

This network will not only challenge state-centric narratives that marginalize Sea Nomads but will actively co-produce actionable insights that translate directly into policies protecting their rights, resources, and cultural identity across the Southeast Asian archipelago.

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