The 2024 Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit (OOYLS) will be held in Athens, Greece in parallel with the main Our Ocean Conference (OOC-9) from April 15-17*, 2024. The Conference is scheduled to take place at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

*OOYLS will begin with an opening reception to welcome delegates to the conference on the evening of April 14 and will conclude the evening of April 17.

The Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit is a 3-day, in-person event from April 15-17, 2024 held in parallel with the main Our Ocean Conference and will embody the overall theme: ‘Our Ocean, An Ocean of Potential’.

The content of the program will inspire young individuals to adopt a scientific perspective when addressing marine challenges, aligning with the UN Ocean Decade for Science. 

Specifically, activities will focus on the significance of leveraging science and technology to make well-informed ocean decisions and policy solutions that accelerate a sustainable blue economy.

In essence, participants will leave the Summit with a heightened comprehension of the interconnected challenges facing ocean health and the means by which they can connect the interests of various stakeholders in government, the private sector, and academia.

The program agenda is now available for the Our Ocean Conference and the Youth Leadership Summit. 

There is no conference fee to attend the Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit. Accepted participants will attend the event free of charge.

Participants are encouraged to bring a notepad, a pen, your laptop, business cards (if available), weather-appropriate clothes, passion, and enthusiasm! 

Note: SOA and OOC-9 organizers will not provide single-use water bottles. Participants are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle.

Upon acceptance, participants will receive additional information about the agenda to work together on addressing challenges within conference themes.

Following acceptance, there will be an onboarding call for participants in March with further details.

The event organizers will provide preparation materials accordingly.

For the duration of the Our Ocean Conference and Youth Leadership Summit (April 15-17) dress code is business casual.

For the welcoming cocktail reception (April 14), dress code is informal. Participants are welcome to wear anything they want (e.g., traditional event attire from their country, comfortable and casual clothes, business attire, etc.).

Participants are required to attend the entire duration of OOYLS from April 15-17, 2024. 

Side events will be held concurrent with the main Our Ocean Conference and while attendance at side events is not mandatory, it would be beneficial to participate. 

Discover the full list of side events here.

Accepted delegates for the Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit must also complete the registration form for the Our Ocean Conference here. 

Yes, participants will be given a personal badge for both the Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit and the Our Ocean Conference. 

Please note: badges are non-transferable and intended exclusively for the individual to whom it is issued.

Conference badges will be provided to participants upon check-in.

See example from past events below:

Participants will not be required to pay for their accommodation and will stay in the same hotel with check-in on April 14, 2024 and check-out on April 18, 2024. 

Participants will not be required to pay for their flights. SOA and OOC-9 organizers will work with a travel agency to book flights directly on your behalf (participants will not have to pay and then get reimbursed). 

As a part of accepting their selection, participants will receive a link to their participant dashboard which to provide additional information and begin the process of working with a travel agent to book their flight.

If you require a visa to travel to Greece, SOA and OOC-9 organizers will provide a visa letter. However, we will not cover any visa-related costs.

If you are not a European Union (EU) passport-holding citizen, a passport is required. Prior to traveling, please ensure your passport is valid at least 6 months before the expiration date.

SOA and OOC-9 organizers are not responsible for providing a passport or travel documents (with the exception of a visa letter) to selected participants. Please liaise with your nation’s embassy or consulate if you have any questions.

Frequently Asked Questions about travel to and within Greece can be found here and in the Visit Greece App (available for download via Google Play or the App Store).

All travelers arriving in Greece, regardless of their country of origin, are not currently required to display a valid certificate of vaccination or evidence of a negative test result for COVID-19.

Please do not plan to come to the Summit if you are sick, are showing any symptoms, or test positive for COVID-19.

If you require specific health accomodations, please reach out to event organizers here.

Applicants must be problem-solvers, sustainability champions, students, or young professionals, and 18 to 35 years old.

Applicants must have an interest in ocean sustainability and contributing to solving our planet’s greatest challenges, including but not limited to: ocean acidification, marine pollution, habitat destruction, and overfishing.

International applicants able to obtain visas for travel to Greece are welcome to apply (check if your country is eligible for visas with Greece here).

Yes, OOYLS is open to international participants who are eligible to obtain visas for travel to Greece (check if your country is eligible for visas with Greece here).

Since 2017, over 50 countries have been represented at OOYLS. Watch the highlight videos from past Summits here.

The application period is February 1, 2024 to February 15, 2024 at 11:59pm PST. 

If you missed this year's application period, sign up for notifications to be the first to know when applications open for next year's Summit! 

Participants will fill out an online application and be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1) Background: The extent to which an applicant’s area of focus professionally or academically is relevant to the conference themes.

2) Impact: The extent to which the applicant’s proposed idea/solution solves a real problem in the ocean sector and would provide overall benefits to society.

3) Feasibility: How realistic the proposed idea/solution is.

4) Scalability: How the proposed idea/solution can be scaled to new markets and/or new industries.

5) Enthusiasm: How much passion and enthusiasm is shown in the application.

6) Vision: The extent to which the commitment aligns with the goals and values of SOA and OOC-9. Additionally, how forward-thinking is the proposed idea/solution?

7) English Proficiency: Applicant’s capacity to articulate the proposed idea/solution in English.

8) Leadership: Applicant demonstrates strong communication skills and potential for leadership.

9) Ocean Impact: The level of interest and engagement in sustainability as it pertains to ocean health.

This year, we will select 50-100 ocean leaders globally.

Selected participants will be informed via email by March 1, 2024.