Youth leadership is critical to advancing and sustaining global policies that protect our ocean planet. This year, countries around the world have the opportunity to unite and ratify the High Seas Treaty, a historic agreement that, after two decades of negotiations, will create a process to protect key regions of the international waters that make up two-thirds of our planet’s ocean.

With this in mind, EarthEcho’s Youth Leadership Council hosted our 2025 Youth Leadership Summit with a focus on equipping youth participants with the background knowledge and resources to help secure the sixty country ratifications needed for the Treaty to enter into force.

This year’s Summit, held throughout the weekend of February 8-9, united over 250 young ocean advocates and adult mentors across eight in-person locations in: Alexandria, VA; Atlanta, GA; Durham, NC; Key Largo, FL; Lafayette, LA; Manila, Philippines; New Haven, CT; and Santa Barbara, CA, as well as through a virtual option that engaged participants from around the world. Summit attendees had the opportunity to network with their peers, learn about the High Seas Treaty and its importance, build skills as ocean advocates through interactive workshops, and share their perspectives on the role of youth leadership in advancing the Treaty through an interactive roundtable discussion.

The Summit is just the beginning, and we look forward to building on the momentum of these events through continued engagement from our GenSea community as we work to support the Race for Ratification of the High Seas Treaty and strong global ocean protections.

Here’s what our participants and organizers had to say about this year’s event:

"Just as the ocean's currents connect distant shores, organizing this summit brought together diverse voices for a common cause. Leading this initiative taught me that meaningful change, like the ebb and flow of tides, requires both patience and persistent action. Seeing young Filipinos transform into passionate ocean advocates reminded me that when we align our efforts with nature's rhythm, we create waves of positive impact that ripple far beyond our shores." - Renz Nathaniel Luyao, EarthEcho Youth Leadership Council member

‍“The EarthEcho Youth Leadership Summit was an enriching and eye-opening opportunity to meet like-minded young adults that helped us learn more about the High Seas Treaty and ways we can get involved to help our oceans. Knowing that there are so many others sharing my concerns and want to take action has really motivated me further.” - Valeria, Key Largo Summit site participant

“The Summit was a wonderful experience that expanded my understanding of the High Seas Treaty and how I can increase my support and activism efforts towards this treaty. It also was a great platform to meet youth (globally) committed to marine conservation and protection.”  - Tracy, Virtual Summit attendee

“The EarthEcho Youth Leadership Summit was an eye-opening experience — it fueled my passion for ocean conservation and reminded me of the power of youth collaboration in creating meaningful change.” - Dustin, Manila Summit site participant

“Planning the EarthEcho Youth Leadership Summit reinforced how passionate and capable young leaders are. Seeing participants engage in advocacy and policy discussions proved the power of youth-led conservation.” - Sunook Yoon, EarthEcho Youth Leadership Council member

A special thanks to our Summit sponsors, La Mer Blue Heart Oceans Fund, The Estée Lauder Companies Travel Retail division, and the Aquarium Conservation Partnership, along with our incredible host organizations, speakers and partners for their support to make this event possible.