We are excited to introduce 25 new members from 24 countries to the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council!
Congratulations to these inspiring young leaders who represent diverse countries and backgrounds! Each will provide unique perspectives and ideas to help World Ocean Day grow in exciting ways.
They will work together in informing and motivating their local communities and countries to take action through a variety of projects and inspire youth and others around the world. By collaborating with one another and others, the Council will achieve real impact, in June and throughout the year, to protect and restore our blue planet.
Thank you to the hundreds of young people from over 100 countries who applied this year to join the Council! It was incredibly challenging to select the winners, and we want to extend special thanks the following individuals who helped in this process:
The World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council Alumni Review Committee:
- La Tisha Parkinson, Trinidad & Tobago – 2016-2017
- Yusuf Kavuma, Uganda – 2018-2019
- Wenqin Zhang, China – 2020-2021
- Stephanie Hung, Hong Kong – 2022-2023
- Ajay Sawant, India – 2022-2023
- Emma Batty Sukerta, Philippines – 2023-2024
- Kjeld Werther, Netherlands – 2023-2024
- Trevon Callendar, Barbados – 2023-2024
The Selection Committee:
- Alerick Pacay – Fauna & Flora, Guatemala
- Jas Chambers – Chair & Co-founder, Ocean Decade Australia, Australia
- Jasmin Graham, M.S. – President & CEO, Minorities in Shark Sciences, USA
- Kevin J. Patel, Founder & Executive Director, OneUpAction, USA
- Mariamalia Rodríguez Chaves, Ph.D. – Latin America Regional Coordinator, High Seas Alliance, Costa Rica
- Russel Symcox – Founder, Wild Alliance Africa & Ocean Festival, South Africa
- Sophie Hulme – Director, Communications Inc., England
You can meet the new Youth Advisory Council here!
For updates about the Council and our youth initiative, and events and opportunities for youth around the world, subscribe to the Rising Blue Network newsletter.