Hi, World Ocean Day community! We are Tommy and Amalia, rising sophomores at Brown University and Yale University respectively, and interns with The Ocean Project this summer. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to spend World Ocean Week in Washington, D.C. as part of the Sea Youth Rise Up (SYRUP) youth delegation and attend Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW). Sea Youth Rise Up is a collaborative campaign to empower and mobilize young people to stand up for our ocean and climate, first launched in 2016 by The Ocean Project, Youth Ocean Conservation Summits, and Big Blue & You. Along with 18 fellow youth from Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Program, the New England Aquarium, Big Blue and You, Clean Miami Beach, and EarthEcho, we met with policymakers on Capitol Hill, attended meetings with ocean experts, and listened to awe-inspiring panelists at the conference.
On our first day of the program, we attended Youth Advocacy Training organized by Sea Youth Rise Up, alongside our fellow student delegates and other youth in DC for the week. Hosted at the Reservoir Center for Water Solutions, we heard from speakers who educated us on policy, the Global Plastics Treaty, deep sea mining, marine protected areas, and other important topics to prepare us for our meetings on Capitol Hill the following day.
On the second day, SYRUP delegates had 26 meetings with staff from state senators’ and representatives’ offices. In the meetings, we advocated for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, addressing single-use plastics through a comprehensive Global Plastics Treaty, and other urgent ocean and climate issues. Notable meetings that SYRUP delegates attended include Senator Sanders (D-VT), Rep. Moylan (R-GU), and Rep. Clark (D-MA). With each meeting, we continuously improved the framing of our ocean story, and how we approached and advocated for the ocean and climate topics we were discussing. To conclude the day, we attended the Social for the Sea event hosted by SYRUP at the American Geophysical Union Headquarters. We had the opportunity to connect with dozens of other youth and professionals in the field and celebrate our achievements on Capitol Hill.
On the third day, we attended the CHOW conference, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. We sat in on panels including “Leadership for Climate Action” and “Fueling the Future of Youth Leadership”. This gave us the opportunity to hear from leaders such as Suraida Nañez-James from the Gulf Reach Institute, and Queen Quet from the Gullah Geechee Nation. Queen Quet’s narrative brought chills throughout the crowd; we were inspired by her analogies to convey how different tribes, regions, and individuals communicate. We also had a few additional meetings on Capitol Hill, including one directly with Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island. Later in the evening, as many SYRUP student delegates had never been to DC before, we toured several of the historic monuments around the city, including the MLK, Jr. Memorial and the WWII Memorial.
On the final day of CHOW, we met with Miriam Goldstein, the Director for Ocean Policy at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, as well as Dr. Rick Spinrad, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA. We attended more panel sessions at CHOW including “The Path Forward for Responsible Offshore Energy” and “Ocean Economy Conservation and Acceleration”. During the intermissions, we visited different organizations tabling in the lobby, including NASA and NOAA. Talking to each organization, we were encouraged to learn more about their initiatives, and look for any potential collaborative opportunities for the future. Finally, we concluded with a group field trip to the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Learning about and discussing urgent ocean and climate issues on Capitol Hill was initially challenging. The steep learning curve involved understanding which concepts to discuss and how to present ourselves as constituents. However, with the support of our fellow youth delegates and guidance from professionals, we managed to navigate these challenges successfully. By integrating ourselves into the conversation on Capitol Hill, we gained confidence in our voices and learned to express what matters to us. This experience has encouraged us to actively participate and provide input on key issues.
As leaders of our generation, this early exposure to high-level decision-making will empower us to challenge the status quo and work towards solving our planetary issues. We learned the importance of increased youth participation in ocean and climate advocacy spaces. Beyond the formal discussions, we enjoyed small talks with other youth about their experiences in grade school and what motivated them to enter ocean and climate advocacy. We, Tommy and Amalia, had a valuable learning experience as part of SYRUP. From cultivating new friendships to attending inspiring panel discussions, we have developed a clearer vision for our future as environmental advocates and changemakers.