The Nautilus Maldives is set to organize the event called Ocean Discovery Week between 2nd and 8th of August, 2026, which will allow visitors a chance to explore the marine life in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Baa Atoll. Organized according to the schedule based on the tides in the sea, the event is supposed to integrate ocean discovery, photography, story-telling, and family involvement into one event. The featured speaker at this year's Ocean Discovery Week event will be Tobias Friedrich, an experienced underwater photographer, and author who will participate in this event together with his wife Isidora and two sons Kian and Dorian. The entire family brings family-related approach into this programme being passionate about scuba diving, marine environment protection and sharing their experiences.
Tobias Friedrich is an underwater photographer who is also serving as a jury member in Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. Friedrich takes photos of marine environments in different places including tropical coral reefs, but also Arctic waters. The second family member Isidora, PADI AmbassaDiver, shares her experience with others in connection with ocean exploration and diving safety. Over the course of the week, the guests will get an opportunity to engage in a variety of activities that include manta rays encounters in Hanifaru Bay, night dives, and guided snorkelling sessions in the house reef. At the same time, there will be photography classes taught by Tobias Friedrich that would cover topics like underwater composition, storytelling, and photography. They would be divided into poolside basics for the beginners and more advanced sessions for the advanced photographers. Also, Isidora will facilitate storytelling and engagement sessions as well as guide children's activities. In addition to that, evening entertainment programmes would be comprised of outdoor movie showings about different underwater phenomena as well as presentations that will expand guests' knowledge about the underwater world.
On the territory of Naiboli, an Ocean Gallery will present some artwork created by Tobias Friedrich in form of calendars and books; some pieces will be available for sale. A certain amount of funds will be allocated to marine conservation projects. In addition to all of the mentioned above, children will experience Ocean Discovery Week in their very own programme called Young Wonderers.
