Christine Nicole G. Agbayani- Youth Advisory Council Member 2025-2026
About This Event
Christine Nicole G. Agbayani (she/her), otherwise known as Chi, is a 22-year-old proactive youth, environment, and ocean leader based in the Philippines, fighting for ocean conservation through science communication.
Growing up in an archipelago, she spent most of her life amidst the forests and seas, delving into the biodiverse landscape of the Philippines as both a young environmentalist and artist. She grew up to love the ocean, especially having a deep love for coral reefs and marine biodiversity. Yet over the years, as she witnessed the rampaging environmental and climate impacts such as typhoons, flooding, and habitat destruction that impacted the coral reefs she once loved, she realized the need for climate action in her country.
Driven by her advocacy, she decided to pursue her degree in Environmental Science with a Minor in Sustainability from Ateneo de Manila University. Her senior thesis was also focused on marine conservation through marine protected areas, where she analyzed differences in water quality, benthic community composition, and coral size structure of massive Porites spp. within and outside of an MPA as it relates to how MPAs manage marine resources. As a student, she was also the former President of the Ateneo Environmental Science Society and a student officer for various animal welfare, women’s rights, and indigenous peoples’ organizations.
Going beyond academics, she is an active youth leader who has been part of various organizations centered on ocean and environmental conservation. She was a volunteer at Oceana Philippines in their research and campaigns department, and a former communications intern at Wetlands International Philippines. She is also an alumnus of the Generation of Sea and Earth Advocates (Gen SEA) program of Save Philippine Seas and the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia. Globally, she represented the Philippines as a delegate for the Archipelagic and Island States Forum of UNDP, and competed in the SX Hackathon x Circular Innovation Challenge in Bangkok, Thailand, wherein she placed Top 7 out of 167 teams in Southeast Asia for her team’s innovation on an ocean literacy app that utilizes gamified learning for ocean conservation. Currently, she is a Student Assistant of the Manila Observatory’s Klima Center, a Project Manager at the Philippine International Law of the Sea Academy, a Graphic Designer at Care About Climate, and is the Executive Director and Founder of EcoSkwela: Citizen Science Lab, an organization that seeks to utilize citizen science to empower the youth and communities in environmental conservation.
As a World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council member, she hopes to expand the reach of ocean conservation globally and within her country through proactive youth-led initiatives. Through the youth, they can drive change within society for the better by harnessing their voices, empowering grassroots action, and creating solutions based on the lived realities of people who are intrinsically tied to our oceans. With her drive for science communication and environmental education, she is dedicated to creating a future that bridges sciences and communication together for ocean and marine conservation.