EUF Lavanchy award 2025

The 2025 EUF Lavanchy Award was presented to Dr. ADEL TAHER.

Although Dr. Taher is not a European citizen, the EUF selection committee ruled he is eligible because his work in Egypt benefits hundreds of thousands of European divers every year.

Adel started his diving career in 1965, he was the person who started the organization of land safaris in the Sinai through 'Early Diving Adventures'. At the time there were no hotels in almost the entire Red Sea area and diving adventures were organized with VW vans, jeeps and tents. His book 'Let there be a red Sea' was the most widely used document for the organization of diving expeditions in the 60s and 70s.

He started treatment of decompression accidents in Mono caissons but in 1993 he finally managed to set up the very professional recompression chamber in Sharm-el-Sheikh. Between 2005 and 2010, it was the most used chamber in the world and since 1993 it has treated more than 1,700 divers there. He expanded his passion for providing assistance to divers a few years ago by creating an additional Hyperbaric Medical Center in Dahab.

Adel is also director of DAN-Egypt, is CEO of Sharm Medical Services Group, lectures in various universities of the world and has been involved in the development of various draft laws related to diving in the Red Sea.