Coji Senanayake (he/him) is a 17-year-old student based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has always been passionate about animals, the environment, and sustainable living. As Sri Lanka is an island nation, the ocean has been Coji’s second home, and he knows that it houses a wealth of bio- diversity, which people should protect at all costs.
Coji is a firm believer in the potential of young people to appreciate and preserve the beauty of nature. He is on a mission to instill this awareness in the younger generation, knowing that their actions can significantly impact climate action. Therefore, in 2023, when Coji was 16, he launched a project named Cee Green, a testament to his commitment to improving both the plight of the environment and the community, with his primary target audience being the children and youth residing in Sri Lanka. So, to reach this audience, he wrote and published two books with conservation and climate awareness as their theme, one for very young children and the other aimed primarily at youth. He also designed and produced a host of jigsaw puzzles and conceptualized and brought to life a board game, all of which brought about and continue to bring environmental awareness and appreciation of nature in the young and the young at heart. He distributes these books and games mainly to underprivileged children and those living in rural areas of the country who do not have access to many resources on conservation due to the lack of internet facilities and the scarcity of age-appropriate learning materials. He funded this project solely through his part-time jobs, such as teaching debate to young children while being a Junior Fellow at Debate Spaces, through birthday gifts he receives, and through the cash prizes he has garnered by winning essay and poetry contests over the years. For instance, he was placed 1st in the GOI International Essay Contest for Young People in 2020 and rewarded for his literary prowess at the Bowseat’s Ocean Awareness competitions in 2022 and 2023.
Many other international organizations have also acknowledged Coji’s efforts to fight climate change. For instance, he was chosen as a semi-finalist at the Climate Science Olympiad in 2024 and the International Young Eco-Hero Awards in 2023.
Coji is also passionate about performing arts, and he recently completed a short course at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom to improve his acting skills. He now hopes to combine his love for acting with his passion for the environment by organizing and participating in plays and documentaries that tackle climate change. Coji wants to entertain, educate, and engage the audience and incentivize them to take action to leave the world a little bit better than they found it.