Oke Soe Htet (he/him) is a former academic fellow of Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative
(YSEALI) which is fully funded by the U.S. Department of State in order to strengthen leadership
development across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and deepen engagement
with young leaders on key regional challenges. He fervently participated at the East-West Center,
Hawai’i and University of California, Berkeley under the theme of Sustainability and Environment,
chiefly explored the topics of ocean protection, marine conservation, water access management and
so on from numerous angles, including local grassroots activism and drawing comparisons between
U.S. and Asia, impacts on marginalized communities, global multilateral efforts, the private sector,
and government policies and regulation. Moreover, he contributed some ocean-related community
services during the fellowship in Hawai’i such as petition recruiting for saying NO to deep-sea mining
campaign, communicating and tour guiding for explaining about the humpback whale at the Earth
Day event, together with Hawai’i Marine Animal Response (HMAR) and litter picking for beach clean-
up activity with Waikiki Ohana Workforce (W.O.W).
Locally, he is a project coordinator of the Mangrovia: Artful Conservation Festival which is a granted
project and intending to raising awareness for restoration and cultivation of mangrove forests, and
mangrove-friendly mud crabs through creative art, supported by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – Myanmar and Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) – Myanmar.
Moreover, he has got selected as a youth participant of Biodiversity and Coastal Conservation in the
Gulf of Mottama Program, aims to enhance youth participation and collaboration with Local
Conservation Groups (LCGs). Furthermore, he is an associate researcher and content writer at a
non-profit environmental social enterprise called Enviro Youth Empowerment” (E.Y.E) which focuses
to inspire, empower, and motivate youths to take action in support of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) especially Goal 13: Climate Action. In his country, he was volunteered in a wide range
of impactful youth-led affiliation with a strong sense of community spirit. He was also a full-
scholarship winner of the College and Career Readiness Program at the University of Taxila which
offers American-accredited degrees.
Having been born and raised in an ethnically and culturally rich community like Mawlamyine which
is a coastal district, very close to the Andaman Sea, he is always seeking inquisitively the ocean
issues and its consequences that leads to polarized impact to his coastal community. He wishes to
learn more about the environmental justice, ethics, policies. In his leisure time, he usually watches
horror movies, reads environmental articles and inspirational fictions. Coming from middles-class
privileged background, he loves socially communicating with ethnic groups and sea gypsies that
drives him to become an individual who greatly encourages the diversity and inclusion. He has an
unlimited passion to address and fight the environmental threats together with global leaders from
across the world. Eventually, with his creativity, proactiveness and enthusiasm, he does believe that
he will be able to leverage, showcase and share his experience for the purpose of emerging potential
young environmental leaders in the next generation.