High Seas Youth Ambassador Blogs

By Sean Russell, Director of Youth Engagement at EarthEcho International

Through the High Seas Youth Ambassador program, EarthEcho International and the High Seas Alliance are collaborating to provide a paid Ambassador experience to six youth ocean advocates (ages 17-22) in strategic locations around the world. Ambassadors will plan and execute innovative campaigns to build the public and political momentum needed to advance High Seas Treaty ratification.

Applications for the 2025 High Seas Youth Ambassador program are open through December 9, 2024.

Continue reading Become the next High Seas Youth Ambassador

By Ajay Sawant

My journey into ocean activism began at an early age on the shores of Worli Beach in Mumbai. As a child, I would spend hours combing the sand for discarded plastic, which I later used to create colorful fish mosaics. It was my way of turning waste into something beautiful. As I grew older, my passion for the ocean only intensified. I learned to snorkel and, as I swam deeper into the water, I became increasingly fascinated with vibrant coral reefs. Each dive revealed more of the ocean’s wonders and its fragility. And what started as a childhood art project evolved into an unending commitment to protecting the very waters I loved exploring.

Continue reading Empowering Youth for Ocean Conservation: Launching the High Seas Treaty Campaign at LCOY, India 2024

“Brazil has signed the High Seas Treaty but has not yet ratified it. Sign our petition calling on the Brazilian Government to ratify the High Seas Treaty Now! The more signatures we gather, the greater our capacity for mobilization” – Sonia Violante Ptasznik, High Seas Youth Ambassador in Brazil.

By Sonia Violante Ptasznik

As a High Seas Youth Ambassador, one of my primary goals is to raise awareness among Brazilians on the importance of the High Seas and the direct impact our actions have on this critical ecosystem. To this end, one of my current initiatives involves the creation of a large-scale artistic mural designed to showcase the magnificence of marine biodiversity and highlight the vast richness of our ocean. Through this artwork, we emphasize the need to protect and advocate for the future of the High Seas.

Continue reading Raising awareness among Brazilians on the importance of the High Seas

Francine Valmaria Elisaia, High Seas Youth Ambassador for the Pacific, reports on her work at the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Tonga to ensure that Pacific youth and Pacific voices are included in discussions and decisions about the High Seas.

As the first High Seas Youth Ambassador from and representing the Pacific region, my goal at the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Tongatapu, Tonga, on 26-30 August was to deliver a clear message: it is crucial to include Pacific youth and Pacific voices in discussions and decisions about the High Seas. I aimed to ensure that our perspectives are not only heard but also truly reflected in decision-making processes.

Continue reading High Seas discussions: raising the voices of Pacific youth

The High Seas Alliance, in partnership with EarthEcho International, is proud to announce the selection of the 2024 High Seas Youth Ambassadors. This year, six remarkable young leaders from Brazil, Mexico, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Samoa have been chosen to champion the ratification of the High Seas Treaty. Their campaigns will play a critical role in building the necessary momentum to support this vital international agreement.

Continue reading Announcing the 2024 High Seas Youth Ambassadors

By Sean Russell

Continue reading Mobilizing Youth Leaders in the #RaceForRatification

Author: Hannah Rudd

Another year, another meeting of world leaders to discuss the most pressing problem ever to face our global community. After a brief hiatus in 2020, the world came together in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021 to identify long-overdue solutions to the climate crisis. And yet, whilst it is now thankfully firmly rooted within climate negotiations, there was relatively little mention of the importance of ocean recovery in the bid to reverse climate catastrophe through resilience. Great strides were made for the world’s green lungs with the landmark Glasgow COP26 Declaration on Forest and Land Use, but what about its blue lungs?  

Continue reading The Elephant in the Room: Why Are We Ignoring the Industrial Fishing Industry’s Carbon Footprint?

Authors: Catarina Lorenzo & Lydia Rysavy

Right now, politicians from around the world are wrapping up their meetings in Glasgow to discuss climate action at COP26. All of their decisions – or lack thereof  – will determine almost every aspect of our lives and those of generations to come. Climate may be at the centre of the conversation, but we cannot forget about the ocean. 

Continue reading Climate action is ocean action – both are long overdue!

Authors: Lydia Rysavy (Sweden), John Paul Jose (India), Milla Heckler (United States), Jihyun Lee (South Korea), Fabio Alfaro (Mexico), Catarina Lorenzo (Brazil), Olivia Livingstone (Liberia)

Whether you know them as the High Seas, international waters, or the Latin mare liberum, the bodies of water that lie beyond national jurisdiction are key to ensuring the survival of our planet and the human race.

Continue reading Why The High Seas Must Be Part of Discussions at the UN Youth4Climate Summit In Rome

Author: Britney Hay

Beyond what the eye can see from our crystalline shores lies a vast and unexplored underwater world that  sustains us all. Up to two-hundred nautical miles from State  coastlines is the high seas, or international waters, making up more than half of the world’s ocean. 

Continue reading The High Seas Treaty: For Life Beyond the Law