Veteran foreign correspondent Edward Girardet believes the Mediterranean can be saved not only through science and diplomacy, but through storytelling. As a co-founder of the Help Save The Med initiative, Girardet is helping lead a three-year voyage across the Mediterranean aimed at raising awareness of environmental decline and cultural loss.
WIKI, or the World Initiative for Knowledge and Integration, is a Monaco-based educational and environmental foundation that combines sailing expeditions, scientific research and journalism training. The project trains young reporters and filmmakers to document the region’s realities while highlighting practical solutions. By combining education, media and adventure, Girardet hopes to inspire a new generation of storytellers capable of turning climate awareness into public action.
Its flagship undertaking, the WIKI Centennial Expedition, officially set sail from Monaco on May 4th 2026 aboard the historic yacht WIKI. The three-year voyage across the Mediterranean marks the centenary of Prince Albert I’s scientific expeditions and aims to connect coastal communities through journalism, education and environmental research.
Media and storytelling is crucial to the sucess of the venture, says Girardet. Having gathered scientific data, built shared expertise and raised educational standards, the aim is to train and mentor young writers and filmmakers with professionals serving both as content producers and mentors to document the journey through original and credible stories, and build genuine understanding of the communities, cultures and people they encounter along the route.
The storytelling programme, covering themes from wildfires and overfishing to the erosion of UNESCO-listed cultural heritage sites, rewilding, drought, early-warning systems and sustainable tourism, will be led by Tom Woods alongside Ed Girardet, who is also editor of Global Geneva. Drawing on more than 40 years of combined experience covering conflict, humanitarian crises and environmental issues worldwide, Woods and Girardet will work with a corps of scientists, writers, photographers, videographers and cartoonists, equipping participants with skills applicable not just to this project but to their own educational and professional futures.
“The multimedia aspect is extremely important for a variety of reasons. It is absolutely crucial to collaborate with young people and give them access and real-world skills for understanding and producing credible media, so as to reach out to diverse global audiences, both young and old, and help people better grasp what is at stake,” says Girardet. “For example, a lot of scientists cannot write for general audiences. Our job is to get them to write articles and help them edit so they can be understood by the broader public because we want their expertise. They have really good stories to tell,” he adds.
You can read more on the project here. The WIKI’s progress around the Mediterraneand can be followed here.
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