UNESCO: Action for the planet: a meeting between students and leaders of citizen-led projects

“In Southeast Asia, current generations are used to being in waters polluted with single-use plastics and nano plastics”, warned Mathilda D'silva, founder of The Ocean Purpose Project, at the first Campus in collaboration with UNESCO Green Citizens, entitled Action for the Planet.

The English International School in Cotonou, Benin, The Phorms Schule Frankfurt/Taunus in Steinbach, Germany, The American School of Angola in Luanda, Angola were able to meet Mathilda D'silva, founder of The Ocean Purpose Project and Oke Carstensen, co-founder of the NGO GreenKayak.

Since 2020, the Ocean Purpose project, founded in Singapore under the initiative of Mathilda D'silva, aims to protect the oceans from pollution. This Singaporean social enterprise engages in bioremediation of algae and mussels – a process to remove pollutants via the introduction of microorganisms. Ocean Purpose interacts with local fish farmers in the waters north of Singapore to combat the chemical pollution that flows into the ocean. Looking back on her career and her various jobs in the audiovisual industry, it was during a dragon boat competition, a traditional boat in the shape of a dragon which moves thanks to a team of rowers, that Mathilda D'silva was confronted with the degraded state of the ocean. Following this race, she developed three autoimmune diseases affecting notably her skin, creating depigmentation spots.

Plastic represents nearly 80% of ocean pollution. It is through citizen action and the evolution towards more eco-responsible behaviors that we will be able to notice a real change on a planetary scale. Through an inspiring speech to the students, she encouraged them to get involved, believe in their ability to understand scientific facts and stay curious.

When Oke Carstensen and Tobias Weber-Andersen founded GreenKayak in 2017 in Copenhagen, they wanted to contribute to the cleaning of waterways through a fun activity. Through the free rental of a kayak, nearly 80 tons of waste have been collected by more than 15,000 people to date. To encourage the preservation of ecosystems, the entrepreneurs have bet on the playful and immersive involvement of participants. From this experience, Oke Carstensen encourages young people to get involved “to protect the environment, we need long-term and continuous actions, beyond political mandates.”

Through this Campus, young people were able to interact with inspiring project owners involved in environmental action. We hope that this exchange will encourage a reflection on citizen projects in their respective schools and local ecosystems.

This event was produced with the support of Klorane Botanical Foundation and C6 Conseil.

• Discover the next UNESCO Campus: https://www.unesco.org/en/campus