Diving Talks

In this edition of Let's Talk About Diving, meet Chad Cannon.

An internationally acclaimed composer and violinist, Chad's work has been featured in Oscar-winning documentaries, Emmy-nominated productions, award-winning video games, and sold-out concert halls around the world.

But beyond the stage and the screen, Chad is on a mission to use music as a force for ocean conservation. Through his project Music for the Ocean, he combines original compositions with stunning visual storytelling to inspire audiences to connect with the underwater world and protect it.

At Diving Talks 2026, Chad will share how art, emotion, and storytelling can become powerful tools for conservation, helping us reach people in ways that facts and statistics alone cannot.

🎥 Watch Chad's introduction and tell us: what inspired your own connection with the ocean?

"Let's Talk About Diving" is a speaker introduction series leading up to Diving Talks 2026, where some of the most respected voices in the underwater world come together to share ideas, stories, and inspiration.

Chad Cannon

In this edition of Let's Talk About Diving, meet Andriana Fragola.

Based in Hawaii, Andriana has dedicated more than a decade to studying sharks, working as a marine biologist, researcher, expedition guide, photographer, and educator. From tagging sharks in the field to helping people safely encounter these incredible animals, her mission is simple: replace fear with understanding.

Sharks are among the most misunderstood creatures on our planet, yet they play a critical role in maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems. Through science, storytelling, and firsthand experience, Andriana is helping change the way the world sees them.

At Diving Talks 2026, she will share insights into shark behavior, conservation challenges, human-shark interactions, and why protecting these apex predators is essential for the future of our oceans.

🎥 Watch her introduction video and tell us: what is the most fascinating thing you've ever learned about sharks?

"Let's Talk About Diving" is a speaker introduction series leading up to Diving Talks 2026, where some of the most respected voices in the underwater world come together to share ideas, stories, and inspiration.

Andriana Fragola

Meet Alison Teal — the “Female Indiana Jones” — in our first Let's Talk About Diving speaker introduction.

An award-winning filmmaker, explorer, author, water woman and conservationist, Alison grew up in a way few people could imagine: homeschooled around the world by her adventure-photographer parents, from the back of a camel to the slopes of Mt. Everest and remote communities reached by dugout canoe.

Today, she has turned that extraordinary upbringing into a global mission.

Through Alison's Adventures, her films, books and social media campaigns, Alison combines exploration, humor and environmental advocacy to inspire millions of people to experience our planet differently — and take action to protect it.

She has taken that message from some of the world's most remote places to TED, Parliament and the World Economic Forum.

And now she's bringing it to Diving Talks 2026 in Lisbon.

🎥 Watch Alison's introduction and discover the adventurer behind the “Female Indiana Jones.”

What happens when we stop simply exploring our world waters — and start using adventure to protect them?

"Let's Talk About Diving" is a speaker introduction series leading up to Diving Talks 2026, where some of the most respected voices in the underwater world come together to share ideas, stories, and inspiration.

Alison's Adventures

What if the greatest risk in diving is something you cannot see, smell, or taste?

Every diver depends on one thing more than any other: the quality of the breathing gas they carry underwater. Yet few truly understand what it takes to ensure that every breath is safe.

In this edition of Let's Talk About Diving, meet Ab van Erkel.

With more than four decades of experience in the diving industry and a career dedicated to high-pressure breathing air systems, purification, and operational safety, Ab has become one of the most respected voices on breathing gas quality and compressor safety. His philosophy is simple: safety is non-negotiable.

At Diving Talks 2026, Ab will share insights gained from a lifetime of helping diving operations around the world deliver safe, reliable breathing air—one of the most fundamental, yet often overlooked, aspects of diving.

🎥 Watch his introduction video and tell us: how often do you think about the quality of the air you breathe underwater?

"Let's Talk About Diving" is a speaker introduction series leading up to Diving Talks 2026, where some of the most respected voices in the underwater world come together to share ideas, stories, and inspiration.

ANATOMY OF AN ACCIDENT: HOW THE MALDIVES SEARCH AND RECOVERY OPERATION WAS CARRIED OUT

Some discussions need more than a presentation. They need different perspectives around the same table — and the right questions to be asked.

At Diving Talks 2026, Chiara Ferri, Cristian Pellegrini, Laura Marroni and Sami Paakkarinen will come together for a dedicated discussion about the Maldives accident and the search and recovery operation that followed.

No individual Talks. No prepared conclusions.

A conversation about what happened, how the search and recovery operation unfolded, and what the diving community can learn from it.

And we want you to be part of that conversation.

If you could ask this panel one question, what would you ask?

Leave your question in the comments. We will select questions from the diving community to bring to the panel in Lisbon.

This will be the final panel of Diving Talks 2026. Be there.

📅 23–25 October 2026
📍 Cordoaria Nacional | Lisbon, Portugal

Let’s Talk About Diving.

DAN Europe (Divers Alert Network Europe)
Cristian Pellegrini
Laura Marroni

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