By: Nisa Syahidah (WWF-Indonesia)

"Welcome to Menami," welcomed Om Jan (WWF-Indonesia) to each of the participants as they took turns arriving, including me who boarded the ship yesterday afternoon. That morning, the heat of Kendari City reached a distance of 150 meters from the Wawonii Ferry Port in Kendari Bay, where the Menami Ship has been anchored since it sailed from Wakatobi three days ago.

The white paint of WWF-Indonesia's ship shines in the sun.
"We will be together for a long time," Mbak Novia Ngesti (WWF-Indonesia) opened to our twenty pairs of listening eyes. "So, let's work together for the success of this expedition," she continued.

Gathered that day, friends from various agencies and WWF-Indonesia partners, spread from west to east Indonesia. This is also what Pak Sugiyanta, our Project Leader in the Southern Eastern Sulawesi Sub-seascape (SESS) region, emphasized when officially opening #XPDCSULTRA from the second floor of the Menami Ship, "The diversity of backgrounds strengthens, not separates."

Friends of WWF-Indonesia from various programs ranging from Jakarta to Papua; all local offices; academics from universities; partner foundations; became colleagues to achieve the expedition's goals: preliminary data on the status of coral reef ecosystems, fisheries profiles, and the distribution of important species in Southeast Sulawesi waters.

Today, we take a group photo - before the colors darken over the next 12 days.