Machchafushi Island Resort & Spa Maldives, The Centara Collection, is set to host an exclusive underwater photography and media experience from 14 to 17 October 2026, in partnership with Youth Global Program in partnership with Nikon Middle East & Nikon India. The programme is supported by Lexar Middle East and Hollyland Middle East. Led by Nikon’s underwater photographers and welcoming select international media, the programme will offer an immersive exploration of Machchafushi’s exceptional marine environment and the underwater world of the South Ari Atoll.

Set within the South Ari Marine Protected Area (SAMPA), Machchafushi offers an exceptional setting for an exclusive underwater photography experience. The resort’s award-winning house reef, spanning more than five times the area of the island itself, creates an expansive underwater landscape shaped by vibrant coral gardens, diverse marine life, and a series of distinctive dive sites.

The experience will take Nikon underwater photographers and select media beneath the surface of Machchafushi, offering the opportunity to capture the island’s marine environment from a unique perspective. From coral formations and marine life to the deeper waters surrounding the island, the programme will showcase the diversity and character of the South Ari Atoll, including the renowned Kudhi Maa shipwreck, which rests between approximately 12 and 30 metres under the surface and has become an established artificial reef.

Together, Machchafushi’s award winning house reef, vibrant coral gardens, diverse marine life and Kudhi Maa create a compelling underwater canvas, offering visiting photographers and media an opportunity to experience and document a lesser seen perspective of the Maldives.

Beyond the reef, the programme will introduce participants to the wider Machchafushi experience, connecting the underwater environment with the island’s natural surroundings, dining, wellness and slower rhythm of island life. Together, these experiences offer a broader perspective of Machchafushi and its place within the South Ari Atoll.

The collaboration brings together Nikon’s expertise in photography and Machchafushi’s distinctive marine environment, creating an exclusive platform to showcase the underwater character of the South Ari Atoll through the lens of leading underwater photographers and international media, with support from Lexar Middle East and Hollyland Middle East.

Taking place from 14 to 17 October 2026, the experience will offer an opportunity to discover and document Machchafushi beyond the shoreline, from its award-winning house reef and vibrant marine life to the distinctive underwater landscapes surrounding the island. Through the photographers and media attending, the experience will bring a different perspective of the Maldives to audiences around the world.

Atmosphere Foundation has celebrated the graduation of the second batch of its ‘Zero to Divemaster’ Scholarship Programme, bringing the total number of young Maldivians trained through the initiative to 20 as the Foundation continues to build pathways into professional careers in the country’s diving industry.

Ten participants completed the second batch of the three-month programme, which takes students through a structured training pathway from PADI Open Water Diver to Advanced Open Water Diver, Emergency First Response, Rescue Diver and, ultimately, professional Divemaster certification.

Delivered in partnership with Moodhu Bulhaa Dive Centre in Vilimalé, the programme is designed to enable Maldivians to enter the professional diving industry even without previous diving experience. The second batch, comprising five women and five men, began training in July following the completion of the inaugural cohort.

The latest graduation builds on strong outcomes from the first batch, which began in April 2026 with 10 participants. All 10 successfully obtained their professional Divemaster certifications, while nine have since secured employment across safari vessels, resorts and island-based dive centres.

The 90 per cent employment rate among the first batch highlights the programme’s success in translating professional training into direct employment opportunities within the Maldives’ tourism and marine sectors.

Beyond technical diving skills, the programme provides participants with training in safety, emergency response and the responsibilities associated with working as a professional Divemaster. The progressive training structure is intended to equip graduates with both the qualifications and practical competencies required to work in professional diving environments.

A key component of the initiative is the level of financial support provided to scholarship recipients. Atmosphere Foundation covers tuition, required certification and registration fees, while also providing accommodation and meals during the programme. The scholarship for the second batch additionally covered training materials and dive insurance, helping remove financial barriers that could otherwise prevent participants from pursuing professional diving qualifications.

By covering both the cost of training and participants’ day-to-day living requirements during the course, the programme allows scholarship recipients to focus on developing their diving skills and completing the demanding progression towards Divemaster certification.

The programme also links scholarship support with a longer-term commitment to the Maldives. Participants agree to work within the country’s diving and marine industry for at least two years after successfully completing their certification, helping ensure that the skills developed through the initiative contribute directly to the local workforce.

With diving forming an important part of the Maldives’ tourism industry, the initiative seeks to expand opportunities for Maldivians to develop specialised skills and pursue careers in an area where trained professionals are required across resorts, liveaboards and local dive centres.

The results of the first cohort provide an early indication of the programme’s potential. While only three graduates had secured jobs when the second batch was launched in July, that figure has since increased to nine, reflecting continued progression into employment following certification.

Following the completion of two batches, Atmosphere Foundation has confirmed that the Zero to Divemaster Scholarship Programme will continue, providing further opportunities for Maldivians seeking to enter the professional diving industry.

With 20 participants now having completed the programme across its first two cohorts, Zero to Divemaster is developing from a training initiative into an employment pathway, combining internationally recognised diving qualifications with practical skills, financial support and a direct connection to career opportunities within the Maldives.

At Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives, seven sea turtle hatchlings recently emerged from the sand and made their way towards the Indian Ocean, their tiny flippers carrying them across the beach before disappearing into the blue. It was a fleeting moment, but one that offered a beautiful reminder that the beaches of the Maldives are more than places to escape to. They are living environments where some of the ocean’s most extraordinary stories begin.

For a sea turtle hatchling, the distance between nest and ocean may be measured in metres, but it marks an important first chapter in a much longer journey.

Sea turtles nest throughout the year in the Maldives, with nesting activity recorded across almost all of the country’s atolls. Green turtles account for the majority of recorded nests, while hawksbill and olive ridley turtles have also been documented. Recent research into nesting activity in the Maldives found that nests typically take around two months to hatch.

Once they emerge, however, the hatchlings are immediately faced with a challenging journey. Their instinctive movement towards the ocean is one of the most vulnerable stages of their lives. Natural predators are only part of the challenge. Artificial lighting can disorient hatchlings and lead them away from the water, while pollution, fishing activity, habitat loss and the effects of climate change continue to present threats throughout their lives.

Surrounded by the waters of Vaavu Atoll, Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives sits within a rich marine environment where encounters with the natural world extend far beyond the shoreline. The waters around the atoll are home to an abundance of marine life, from colourful reef fish and rays to sharks, dolphins and sea turtles, making the ocean an ever-present part of the island experience.

At Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives, these seven hatchlings were only visitors for a matter of minutes before the ocean carried them away. But for those fortunate enough to witness their first journey, they left behind something much bigger: a reminder that in Vaavu Atoll, some of the Maldives’ most memorable experiences are the ones nature chooses to create itself.