Congratulations to the new World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council
2025-2026!
You are inspiring young leaders who represent diverse countries and backgrounds! We are excited to work closely with you in the year ahead to catalyze collective action for a healthy ocean and a stable climate. Together – working with thousands of other youth and organizations from all sectors – we will take action throughout the year and make World Ocean Day 2026 the biggest and most impactful yet!
- Aashi Agarwal – India
- Alexandra Carolina Orué Carranza – Perú
- Alyssa Seckinger-Crow – Australia
- Arushi Surve – United States
- Asmaa Gamal Abdelaziz El-Tawil – Egypt
- Ava Havidic – United States
- Axel Riviere – France
- Bimochan Pathak – Nepal
- Camille Lefevre – Reunion Island
- Christine Nicole Agbayani – Philippines
- Ema Poposka – Hong Kong
- Gerselle Koh – Singapore
- Ilona Mayerau-Lonne – New Caledonia
- Isabelle J Ho Zhi Lin – Singapore
- Jeremiah Ugochukwu – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- Kye Nanovu – Fiji
- Layasree Vemmata Gopi – India
- Le Minh Chau Truong – Germany
- Liam Pope-Lau – Canada
- Matilde Chiodi Brisinello – Qatar
- Naydeline Smith – Belize
- Rahma Sadiki – Tanzania
- Sonia Violante Ptasznik – Brazil
- Tallie Lin – Taiwan
Each Council member provides fresh perspectives and ideas to further develop World Ocean Day as a unique rallying point for celebration and action around the world on the 8th of June. They will also help throughout the entire year to grow the global movement for a better future. By closely collaborating, the Council will become a powerful force for good in communities and countries around our blue planet.
Thank you to all 550 young people from 101 countries who applied this year to join the Council!
This year it was incredibly challenging to select the winners, perhaps the hardest ever since launching the Council 10 years ago. It is heartening to learn about so many incredible young people worldwide who care about our world ocean and are looking to help connect and take action for a better future! In an ideal world, we would have the budget and staffing to work more closely with everyone but for now, we will at least look forward to connecting with you via our monthly for youth, Rising Blue Network Newsletter.
Thank you to this year’s World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council Selection Committee who spent many hours reviewing dozens of applications to help us pick this year’s winners!
- Aleksandra (Ola) Kuznia, Program Officer, High Seas Alliance, Poland
- Céline Kahn, Project Manager, Oceano Azul Foundation, France
- Daniel Caceres Bartra, SOA Regional Representative for Latin America, Peru
- Fanny Ekholm, CSR Manager, Didriksons, Sweden
- Flora McMorrin, Director, Rise Up, United Kingdom
- Hoi Y. Poon, Founder, Advisor, Mentor – Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, United States
- Kristina Gjerde, Senior High Seas Advisor, IUCN Global Ocean Team, United States
- Laura Johnson, Former Youth Programs Manager @The Ocean Project, Programs Manager, Big Blue & You, United States
- Dr. Marcelo Lino Morales Yokobori, Vice-President, Mundus maris, Argentina
- Dr. Maria del Carmen Patricia Morales, Vice-President, Mundus maris, Belgium
- Niki Mazaroli, Director of Sustainability & Community Engagement, Open Water, United States
Special thanks to the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council alumni network review team who helped throughout the last two months to carefully look through all the applicants. You are incredible and so helpful!
- Dekota Mark, Australia
- Kenia Marcano, Trinidad & Tobago
- Leena Joshi, India
- Nathalie Ashkar, Lebanon
- Paulina Slawek, Poland
- Rada Pandeva, Bulgaria
- Tariq Lawal, Nigeria
- Thomas Csillag Finger, Brazil
When Youth Lead, Our Ocean Wins!
We are excited to work with the new Council members, the alumni network of 149 young people in 66 countries, and other youth leaders! We’re also eager to work more closely with other youth-focused organizations worldwide as well as all the other amazing organizations from all sectors in our global network of 2,000 in 180 countries.
We are thankful for the many amazing young people and incredible older people whom we collaborate with! There is much to do, and we are eager to expand our efforts in an intergenerational approach to protect and restore our world ocean, create a stable climate, and, together, bring about a more sustainable society.