UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF OCEAN SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (2021–2030)

H2OO IS A DECADE IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER
H2OO has been involved in the Ocean Decade since 2020. Recognizing water as the life source that connects us all, H2OO envisions a future where youth are equipped to lead humanity toward a more just, equitable, and empathetic world, grounded in connection to nature and one another. Engaging in the Ocean Decade was a natural progression in our mission to restore and protect our shared one-water system.
H2OO SPONSORED THE ONLY YOUTH DELEGATION UNDER AGE 25 AT UN OCEAN DECADE CONFERENCE!
2024 UN OCEAN DECADE CONFERENCE – BARCELONA
H2OO led an official UN Ocean Decade Conference Side-Event on April 9, advocating for the meaningful inclusion of youth aged 15–25 in the Decade. Five youth leaders involved in H2OO were sponsored to attend to represent their generation and lead the side-event.
Presented was our model that actively engages youth in the Decade, emphasizing the importance of all UN Member States involving youth through youth action councils.
WATCH THE RECORDING4th Cohort members hold signs at U.S. YAC UNOD’s organized press conference which wrapped the March 2024 World Water Week Hill Days event in Washington D.C.
5TH COHORT U.S. YOUTH ACTION COUNCIL FOR THE UN OCEAN DECADE NOW UNDERWAY
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE U.S. YAC UNODH2OO has onboarded a new group of young eco-justice advocates dedicated to safeguarding our interconnected one-water system as part of the 5th Cohort of the U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade (U.S. YAC UNOD).
Over the next eight months, U.S. YAC UNOD members will be hard at work on hands-on action projects related to policy, movement-building, education, and communications!
Who makes up the 5th Cohort?
58 youth leaders aged 15–25;
Located in USA, including sovereign Indigenous Nations within U.S.-occupied Turtle Island, Hawai‘i, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam/Guåhan, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Kwajalein, Marshall Islands;
YOUTH INCLUSION EXPERT WORKING GROUP OF THE UN OCEAN DECADE LAUNCHES 1ST COHORT
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE YIEWG UNODIn mid 2024, IOC/UNESCO invited Heirs To Our Ocean to collaborate with their Decade Coordination Unit (DCU) in creating a Youth Inclusion Expert Working Group of the UN Ocean Decade (YIEWG UNOD).
2024 UN Ocean Decade Conference Side-Event Presenting our Model of Success in Engaging Youth Under 25 in the Decade.

CHALLENGE 10
VISION 2030 CHALLENGE 10 WHITE PAPER
Including youth voices under 25 in the Decade is essential, as valuing and integrating their perspectives empowers them to become catalysts for advancing the UN Ocean Decade’s priorities well into the future.
As a member of the Expert Working Group for Decade Challenge 10, H2OO collected feedback from U.S. YAC UNOD members and H2OO Global Youth Leaders. This effort ensured that the perspectives and unique contributions of youth aged 15–25 were included in the Challenge 10 White Paper. Notably, this is the only White Paper that has incorporated youth perspectives in this manner.
READ WHITE PAPER on challenge 10