Luxembourg may be landlocked, but these women are proving you don’t need a coastline to care deeply – and act boldly – for our oceans. My guests are:
As the world prepares for the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice, we welcome four incredible women who are passionate about advocating for the protection of our oceans and all of the incredible life therein.
Dr Anna Schleimer, president of Odyssea and a marine biologist, has spent years researching wildlife in our oceans, which has taken her from the coral reefs of Guadeloupe to the icy Gulf of St Lawrence. “There are still so many unanswered questions about the biggest animals on the planet”, she said. “We’re seeing shifts in whale distributions due to warming waters. Even critically endangered species like the North Atlantic right whales are suddenly appearing in new areas, and facing new threats.”
Dr Lexi Grosbusch, a science communicator at the Luxembourg Science Center, shared how her journey began on Belgian beaches and was catalysed by a formative marine biology trip to the Seychelles, led by Dr Robert Hofrichter. “That excursion changed everything for me”, she explained. “Diving opened my eyes to a world we’re all connected to, but often forget.”
Clarissa Ausilio, Lexi’s colleague and co-creator of Luxembourg Ocean Days, described how their event grew out of a shared passion. “We wanted to do something fun and meaningful”, she said. “Ocean science isn’t just for coastal nations. Luxembourg had hundreds of students eager to learn last year and we’re expanding the programme this June.”
Lorieza (Lori) Neuberger-Castillo brought a deeply personal connection to the conversation. Raised in a Philippine fishing village where the sea was her playground, trained as a scientist in Australia where the Great Barrier Reef was on her doorstep, and now a scientist and scuba diver in Luxembourg, she founded Diving Escapades to promote sustainable travel. “Scuba diving changed the way I saw everything – its beauty and its fragility”, she explains.
Despite being landlocked, Luxembourg is part of this story. As Anna reminded us, “Even our rivers flow to the sea. What we do here matters.”
The Luxembourg Ocean Days 2025, held from 11–15 June, promise interactive school workshops, public exhibits, and family activities – all underpinned by science and hope, taking place at the Luxembourg Science Center.
As Anna said, “The ocean has already bought us time. Now it’s our turn to act.”
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