Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) will co-host the 8th annual Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit (OOYLS) in Busan, South Korea from April 28-30, 2025, in cooperation with Our Ocean Conference (OOC-10) organizers and supported by the Republic of Korea Ministry of Oceans & Fisheries and the National Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU).
The Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit serves as a critical forum to engage and empower the next generation of young ocean professionals from around the world to develop and expand their skills, networks, and resources as a leader in the ocean sector. In 2025, OOYLS will be fully integrated into the main Our Ocean Conference and will embody the overall theme: ‘Our Ocean, Our Action’.
As a platform for youth-led solutions, OOYLS will address both challenges and opportunities in the ocean sector through comprehensive objectives focused on transitioning from an 'ocean in crisis' to an 'ocean of hope' through smart, concrete, and intuitive governance actions.
The 2025 program will emphasize capacity building, showcase youth-led innovations, and foster meaningful cross-cultural connections, culminating in an actionable youth pledge for future ocean sustainability efforts.
To participate in the 2025 Youth Leadership Summit through Sustainable Ocean Alliance, individuals can apply to the SOA Ocean Leaders Fellowship (OLF), in partnership with Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy.
Learn more about the OLF program here.
About Sustainable Ocean Alliance:
Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) is a global nonprofit organization created by youth—for youth—dedicated to activating young people, developing and implementing innovative solutions, and mobilizing an ocean workforce to restore the health of the ocean in our lifetime. SOA was founded in 2014 by Daniela V. Fernandez during her first year at Georgetown University to bring youth voices and solutions to the forefront of the conversation.
Today, SOA has grown into the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders, innovators, and policymakers. To date, we have accelerated 480+ solutions (and counting) to the greatest threats facing our ocean. These solutions include 64 for-profit startups and 419 community-led nonprofit projects around the world.
About the Our Ocean Conference:
The Our Ocean Conference was first launched under the initiative of the U.S. Department of State in 2014. Since then, it has gradually become a forum for dialogue that brings together governments, international organizations, academia, the private sector, and NGOs that share a common vision for the protection of the oceans and take action to support this vision. Since 2014, the Our Ocean Conference has made significant contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, with over 2,600 commitments valued at approximately $140 billion USD to date.
Hosted by the Republic of Korea for 2025, the 10th Our Ocean Conference (OOC-10) aims to accelerate important momentum for setting specific directions for cooperation on sustainable ocean development. Utilized as a forum to discuss global cooperation and implementation means for agreements on the advanced future of the ocean, participants can expect to discuss innovative and inclusive initiatives based on active and effective practices for the sustainable development of the global ocean and the coexistence and prosperity of the ocean and humanity.
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