This is the proceedings of the Indian Ocean Conference “Forging Unity: Coastal Communities and the Indian Ocean’s Future”. The conference as an important opportunity to explore the idea of an ‘Indian Ocean community’ by bringing together representatives from all frontiers of the Indian Ocean (with the exception of the Middle East). In this sense, the conference was unique, as it attracted people from all around the Indian Ocean, from East Africa to Southeast Asia, and from the southern small island States in the Indian Ocean to South Asia. In organizing the conference, we sought the collaboration of the International Ocean Institute (IOI), which focuses on the peaceful and sustainable use of the oceans and its resources, through operational centres in Asia and Africa. It contains papers, presentations and vision statement of the conference.