The New Era of Youth Activism: An Ocean of Opportunity
Philippe Cousteau Jr., Founder of EarthEcho International
As the global climate crisis continues to accelerate and political gridlock and failed promises hamper progress, I have hope that we can reignite a battered environmental movement. The world is home to 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 to 24 — the largest generation of youth in history. Young people are agents of change, entrepreneurs and innovators. Whether through education, science and technology, or direct action, young people are scaling up their efforts and using their skills to accelerate solutions to climate action. Creating and fostering youth interest in ocean conservation is essential to establishing the sustained momentum needed to address and correct the growing climate challenges impacting people and critical ecosystems globally.
In 2005, I worked with a small, enthusiastic and dedicated team to launch EarthEcho International, based on a simple concept: youth have the power to change the world. Today, EarthEcho leads a growing movement of youth-focused ocean advocacy. Youth leaders are emerging as powerful change agents, from tackling plastic pollution and species decline to influencing policy.
The importance of focusing on youth and the ocean is fact-based. Covering 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, the ocean transports heat from the equator to the poles, regulating our climate and weather patterns. For this reason, climate change — the warming of the earth and all of the critical problems it causes — is fundamentally an ocean issue. Activating and engaging youth is key to building a durable conservation movement that can move with the speed and audacity needed to transform the future. Research from The Ocean Project show that engaging people 13–25 achieves the greatest conservation impact as they tend to be the most interested and willing to act, with high potential to influence others. It has been our experience that youth also understand the critical importance of ensuring that the environmental efforts are equitable, inclusive and just.
Every day, our team works with youth who are taking substantive action to change the course of environmental inaction and disregard for underserved communities. One timely example is the OceanEcho 30x30 initiative, a global campaign designed to amplify the collective impact of youth-led action. The goal is to protect 30% of our global ocean by 2030 through education and advocacy campaigns, active engagement in ocean policy, and direct coastal restoration efforts. Their efforts are seeing results, as last year, world governments came together to adopt a global 30x30 goal.
This marks a major step forward to preserve what remains of ocean biodiversity and restore the ocean to abundance. Critical to the success of these efforts are the voices and leadership of young people around the world from a broad and diverse sector of society. An important piece of OceanEcho 30x30 includes a paid fellowship experience equipping young leaders with tools, training, and funding to launch innovative campaigns that build public and political support for the global 30x30 goal in their own communities.
In 2022, OceanEcho 30x30 Fellows partnered with mentors in the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, Friends of the Mariana Trench, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, the Pacific Remote Islands Coalition, and the Surfrider Foundation, and the work of these passionate youth leaders provides a glimpse into the power and relevance of youth-led advocacy. From creating educational roadshows and social media campaigns to public art and museum exhibitions, each of the Fellows was able to drive innovative campaigns that raised community awareness and support, while directly engaging with key decision makers. These emerging leaders are connecting and collaborating with a community of fellow ocean advocates from 50+ countries to share resources, ideas, and inspiration.
Youth climate and ocean activism is varied and targeted. Earlier this year, for example, 17-year-old high school junior Maanit Goal mobilized more than 100 youth and community activists on the Capitol steps in Olympia, WA, to urge lawmakers to replace the four lower Snake River dams to protect native salmon and orca populations and indigenous sovereignty. The nonprofit he helms, Washington Youth Ocean & River Conservation Alliance (WYORCA), is congressionally recognized.
High school student, Brigitta Gunawan established the 30x30 Coral Garden: An EduRecreation Site in 2022. Indonesia’s coral reefs are among the world’s most diverse ecosystems, occupying 16% of global reef area. However, local and global stressors have greatly harmed these coral reefs, with over 95% considered under threat from unsustainable fishing practices, eutrophication, pollution, and climate change. Brigitta’s ongoing project and monitoring framework restores coral reefs in Tulamben — a fishing village in Bali — whilst educating local fishermen, dive guides, and youth to ensure a durable restoration project.
It’s past time to rethink our approach to environmentalism. We have a golden opportunity to support a historical youth movement to protect, restore, and save our planet. If you have a young person in your life who is passionate about the ocean or is looking for real-world ways to combat climate change, your support and encouragement are critical. Find out more and join the growing movement at JoinGenSea.org, a community and digital platform connecting young ocean advocates, ages 13–25, for networking, learning, and collective action to protect and restore our ocean planet.
