Oxford Príncipe Project

18/05/2026

We’re delighted that our documentary was an Official Selection at the Frome International Climate Film Festival 🎬

Thank you to The Climates festival team for supporting climate and environmental storytelling through film!

We’re very grateful to have been included among so many thoughtful and impactful films 🌍

15/03/2026

We’re excited to share that our documentary filmed during the University of Oxford expedition to Príncipe will be screened at the Oxford Shorts Film Festival 🎬

The film offers a rare window into life on Príncipe, a remote island in the Gulf of Guinea, and explores the importance of the island’s unique environment through the voices of local residents.

📍 St John’s College, Oxford
📅 Sunday 12 April
⏰ 3:30pm

🎟 The festival is free to attend and tickets can be booked via the link below:
https://filmfreeway.com/oxfordshorts/tickets

We look forward to sharing the film in Oxford!

04/09/2025

🌿 Exciting news! 🎬

Our documentary Príncipe Past & Present has been officially selected for ECOCINE International Environmental and Human Rights Film Festival in Brazil. 🌍

Ecocine is the first environmental film festival in Brazil (and the second in the world), and this year marks its 33rd anniversary 🏆 running alongside the global climate discussions of COP30. 🌱

We’re thrilled that our film will be screened as part of this year’s programme! 📽️

23/05/2024

In honour of World Turtle Day, we share this video featuring Huoltam Carvalho from the PROTETUGA project on Príncipe Island, operated by Fundação Príncipe. Since 2015, PROTETUGA has worked with local and international communities to conserve sea turtles and make Príncipe a sanctuary for the sea turtle species that frequent its waters. 🌊🐢

🐢🌍

01/05/2024

Insights from Mangal Abade 🌿: Our 2023 preliminary survey of this mangrove site on Príncipe island revealed a rich variety of ceramic fragments, offering glimpses into the island's past.

Particularly intriguing is the apparent broader chronological range of surface ceramics compared to those found at Ribeira Izé, challenging the assumption of Ribeira Izé as the oldest site and prompting a reevaluation of Príncipe's historical timeline.

These initial findings emphasize the importance of further research to deepen our understanding of the island's history. 📜🔍

23/04/2024

🌍 We are delighted to announce that our Lead Environmental Scientist, Bastiaan van Dalen, was invited to present at the Society for American Archaeology's 89th annual meeting! His talk, 'Bridging the Gap: Exploring Historical Human-Environment Dynamicodiversity Hotspot in the Gulf of Guinea,' highlighted the urgent need for biodiversity hotspot research to protect Earth's species.

Focusing on São Tomé and Príncipe, an overlooked hotspot, Bastiaan emphasised its unique potential for understanding human-environment interactions. Despite its significance, Príncipe lacks extensive archaeological research.

Bastiaan discussed future fieldwork possibilities and shared insights from our initial paleoecological research—the first of its kind on Príncipe.

08/03/2024

Our Filmmaker and Communications Officer, Sophie Carlarne, shares her experience in expedition filmmaking during a masterclass for OUEC - Oxford University Exploration Club. 🎥🌍

05/02/2024

🔬 Update: The sampling of cores and pollen preparations, collected during the expedition, is in full swing at the University of La Laguna’s ecology laboratory! We are excited to share some examples of the well-preserved mangrove pollen from the Praia Grande site, provided by Dr. Álvaro Castilla-Beltrán. 🌼🔍

06/09/2023

Bastiaan van Dalen, our Lead Environmental Scientist, has once again been featured by Dutch news site Omroep Flevoland! In this video, he speaks about his PhD and shares more about our Príncipe expedition.

https://www.omroepflevoland.nl/gemist/radio/347159/flevolander-in-het-buitenland-welk-buitenland-eigenlijk?id=347159&fbclid=IwAR3ls110CnAq4tL9Ft6EdAGcAflA8QXEUvLuZDMULsk2-KiKUc_srVr44uk

Oud-Almeerder Bastiaan van Dalen reist de hele wereld over. We spraken hem al toen hij in Engeland en Alaska woonde en zelfs de West-Afrikaanse kust. Vandaag is hij toevallig tijdelijk in Nederland. Maar ook dat duurt niet lang meer, want binnenkort gaat hij misschien in Duitsland wonen, omdat hij o...

13/07/2023

Time flies! ⏰ It's hard to believe it's been 6 months since we embarked on our journey to Príncipe. Stay tuned as we share exciting updates on our ongoing research and the progress of our documentary.

We extend sincere gratitude to our partners and advisors, whose support made this expedition possible. Thank you to University of Oxford, The Explorers Club & ROLEX, Belo Monte Hotel, Harvard Travellers Club, South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, St Hugh's College, Africa's Eden, Forever Príncipe and the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology for their contributions to this project.