Zero Waste Qatar works towards the goal of zero waste becoming mainstream in the country. This project incorporates workshop series, webinars, conferences, study tours, case studies, policy papers, and long-term online and offline campaigns. Equipping thousands of change agents with the right knowledge to implement change. They also mobilize in favor of good design and denounce products that are not produced with circularity in mind. Public support for waste-free alternatives is the main pillar, as people have identified it as the easiest way to support this joint effort and contribute to the fight against climate breakdown.

Soonlution is a startup founded by a group of Hong Kong University students working to modernize the way shellfish are farmed by creating a prototype that allows for more sophisticated buoyancy controls, increasing the platform’s resilience and adaptability to typhoons, which are increasing in frequency and strength due to climate change. The support of an SOA microgrant has allowed them to test and refine three different prototypes as part of their proof of concept.

With support from SOA, Saathi will do a thorough assessment of the positive environmental impact of their product in terms of plastic and C02 pollution avoided due to the production of their plastic-free feminine hygiene products. Their business model has a positive impact at every part of our supply chain, providing income to farmers who produce the materials, employ an all-female manufacturing staff, and sell pads to women typically residing in underserved urban areas.

This project, led by the NGO Roots of the Sea, engages Martiniquan and Caribbean youth in the celebration of Mangrove Week by creating a mangrove tree nursery (planting 50-75 mangroves) and doing a mangrove cleanup event. They also aim to establish a mangrove network with other organizations across the Caribbean.

The mission of SOA Hub Japan is to become the leading network for ocean youth leaders in Japan. This grant will allow them to build out their website, pitch materials and build out Hub Membership base. They brought on 10 initial members to fill leadership roles and hosted a series of webinars featuring Japanese ocean leaders. They used initial momentum to continue to grow their membership. They are now organizing a prototype of an ocean youth leadership summit & training program in Tokyo.

Gonçalo MAR, an artist affiliated with the seabed mining advocacy group Sciaena, creates a deep sea mining mural in Lisbon for the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, whilst Sciaena will coordinate social media activations around his artwork.

This project aims to petition and campaign that the government of Norway adopt a 10-year moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining as the group had done with the group for Children and Youth to get the government to declare a climate emergency. This will include a documentary and petition around different regions of Norway.

In Japan, the proportion of women engaged in occupations related to the ocean is significantly lower than that of men, and many women are not able to play an active role in marine-related fields. To address this issue, this project will help to: (1) Create an environment where the next generation of young people can develop marine literacy; (2) Establish a human resources network centered on young people with interdisciplinary and specialized knowledge of the ocean; (3) Promote the conservation and sustainable use of the sea (SDG14), and also help work towards gender equality (SDG5). 

Calypso Diving conducted a reef restoration project in collaboration with Ocean Gardener Yayasan, a local NGO involved in coral restoration and educational programs about marine ecology and reef conservation in Amed, Bali. SOA Support has helped the program conduct surveys, transplantings, and monitoring of 6 coral nurseries and 100+ corals; and supported a youth education camp "Blue School, Bali" to build ocean awareness amongst local youth in Bali. The classes are on coral conservation and marine life for kids from 5 to 15 years old in the Amed area.