Youth Innovation Challenge 2023 Awardees

Winners

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  Winner
  Ajay Sawant

  Coral continues to decline in the Indian Ocean due to environmental degradation from pollution, harmful fishing methods, coral mining, and other factors.

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  Winner
  Jennifer Obiorah & Team

  After noticing a learning gap across primary and secondary school students regarding education about SDGs, climate change, and marine debris, Jennifer came up with the idea to host an inter-school marine debris challenge in Nigeria for students with the target of reaching out to an average

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  Winner
  Keira Chen

  As a volunteer at her local library, Keira noticed how young children are genuinely interested in reading, and how they especially enjoy the library's comfy reading corner.  With this in mind, Keira came up with an innovative solution to promote ocean conservation to young children at

Finalists

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  Alex Jang

  The size of microplastics, plastics ranging from 1 micrometer to 5 millimeters, can have radically different effects on organisms. Unfortunately, existing citizen science initiatives focus only on one data point: the number of microplastics.

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  Ally Zlatar

  Recognizing the significant amount of waste the pharmaceutical industry generates, Ally uses art to address the issue of medical waste that contributes to marine debris.

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  Chidimma Anastasia Chima & Benedict Chima

  Marine debris isn't a stand-alone problem, and addressing it is a necessary step for the conservation of marine biodiversity.

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  Dang Chi Kien & Team

  Today, coral reefs are being destroyed by many factors, such as urban development, destructive coastal fishing practices, and climate change.

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  Etchel Leinne Perez & Team

  Oil spills are a big threat to marine biodiversity. But one novel way to clean oil spills is to use hair. Etchel and her team created a program to both collect hair and increase awareness of oil spills for citizens in their city, Manila. This initiative would include several activities.

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  E. Haripriya & Team

  Aquatic foods are an affordable and accessible source of animal protein and micronutrients worldwide. Global consumption of aquatic foods has increased at an annual average of 3% since 1961.

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  Jacqueline Cruz Aguila

  Policy advocacy is an important part of transforming policies related to climate change and the environment across geographical scales.

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  Karl Japeth G. Rosal

  The UN’s adoption of the High Seas Treaty is a significant step towards fulfilling the global 30 x 30 initiative. This underscores the protection and sustainable use of marine ecosystems outside national boundaries.

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  Kee Farms (Nicholas Kee & Team)

  Jamaica has the most overfished waters in the English-speaking Caribbean. Over the past four decades, the nation's fisherfolk, the majority of whom are artisanal fishers, have been fishing lower and lower down the food chain.

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  Nora Maung

  One of the critical challenges facing degraded coral reefs is their emission of less attractive acoustic cues, dissuading settlement-stage fishes from making their homes there.

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  Pamela Kiambi

  Incorporating Indigenous knowledge into marine conservation efforts is a crucial step toward achieving sustainability. Indigenous communities have been living sustainably and in harmony with the environment for generations.

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  Yuli Efriani & Team

  In 2022, Anggar Beach in Sibolga City produced around one ton of marine debris, much of which came from houses around the beach that throw their trash into the sea. In this area, a majority of the population work as fishermen and may not get to spend time with their families.