Presented by: Mary Mar E. Jaleco of the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, Matthew Vincent Tabilog of Mangrove Matters Philippines and Youth Engaged in Wetlands (YEW), and Phebe Fidge of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Youth Task Force
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 17, at 03:00 UTC
05:00 — Maputo
06:00 — Nairobi / Dar es Salaam
07:00 — Victoria, Seychelles
08:00 — Malé
08:30 — Colombo / Chennai
10:00 — Phuket / Ho Chi Minh City / Jakarta
11:00 — Kuala Lampur / Singapore / Perth / Manila / Zhanjiang / Taipei
12:00 — Tokyo
12:30 — Darwin
13:00 — Port Moresby
14:00 — Sydney / Honiara
15:00 — Suva
16:00 — Auckland
04:00 — Paris
22:00 — Washington, DC (Monday, November 16)
19:00 — Seattle (Monday, November 16)
Webinar description: Coastal mangrove and seagrass ecosystems are vital for shoreline protection and coastal livelihoods, yet many are degraded or threatened by human impacts. Engaging youth in conservation and restoration is essential, but barriers such as inadequate support, policy gaps, and unclear pathways for participation limit meaningful, sustained engagement.
This webinar will explore how youth-led and youth-focused initiatives are advancing coastal wetlands conservation across local, regional, and global scales. Speakers will share experiences from immersive, place-based learning; grassroots youth organizing; and international policy engagement.
Mary Mar E. Jaleco, Community Extension Services Coordinator at the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, will present on the JBLFMU Eco-Adventure Camp, which engages youth ages 16–20 in immersive, hands-on learning in wetlands, and will share outcomes and lessons for engaging youth in coastal wetlands conservation and restoration.
Matthew Vincent Tabilog, Founder of Mangrove Matters Philippines and Knowledge and Capacity Building Lead for Youth Engaged in Wetlands (YEW), will present on Mangrove Matters’ youth-led work advancing mangrove conservation through education and community engagement and will share lessons from YEW on mobilizing youth for coastal wetlands conservation.
Phebe Fidge, Co-chair of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Youth Task Force, will highlight barriers and enablers for youth engagement, drawing on the Task Force’s recent report on policy coherence gaps for youth-led ecosystem restoration and CYMG’s recent guide to youth engagement for inclusive ocean governance. She will also draw from her experience restoring coastal wetlands in Australia.
After the presentations, there will be live Q&A to address questions from webinar participants about how they can empower inclusive and effective youth-centered approaches to coastal wetlands conservation and restoration in their own communities. Captioning will be available in over 30 languages.
Hosted by: OCTO with support from the NOAA National MPA Center
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MDO2TFwlS1OXevh1Yf9rjA