For Immediate Release
September 14, 2016

Philippe Cousteau’s EarthEcho International Brings Young Environmental Champions to the U.S. Department of State’s Our Ocean Conference

(Washington, D.C.)  EarthEcho International, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring youth to act now for a sustainable future, is sending members of its Youth Leadership Council to participate in the U.S. State Department’s Our Ocean conference during a special youth-focused summit in Washington, D.C. from September 15-16, 2016.  EarthEcho’s Youth Leadership Council is comprised of young environmental leaders from across the country, ages 15-22.

“Every day, the EarthEcho team and I see the tremendous power that young people have to change our world for the better; they are the problem solvers, visionaries and disruptors who tackle and solve the environmental challenges we face today and in the future,” said EarthEcho International President Philippe Cousteau, Jr. “Inviting a new generation of change makers to participate in the critical conversations at the Our Ocean Conference is an important step in the right direction to turn words into action.”

EarthEcho Youth Leadership Council members will participate in the Our Ocean, One Future: Leadership Summit, a parallel event to the Our Ocean conference co-hosted by the U.S. Department of State, Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and the Sustainable Oceans Alliance, with the support of the Georgetown Science, Technology & International Affairs Program and the Georgetown Global Futures Initiative.  High-level ocean leaders will join a competitively-selected group of 150 university students and young professionals to build leadership strategies to spur action on the threats to our ocean.  Areas of focus will include marine protected areas, climate, sustainable fisheries and marine pollution.  The Summit aims to engage the next generation of political leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists and civil society to identify solutions and commit to actions to protect our ocean, so that it may continue to sustain us all into the future.

EarthEcho’s Youth Leadership Council members are also participating in the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) 1,000 Ocean Actions Campaign 1000oceanactions.org, an effort to collect 1,000 individual actions that protect our ocean.  Youth Leadership Council members will participate in EarthEcho’s commitment to plant 1,000 trees over the course of the next nine months, in addition to individual commitments that they have submitted.

The EarthEcho Youth Leadership Council’s efforts are made possible through the generous support of the Campbell Foundation (http://www.campbellfoundation.org/), Northrop Grumman (http://www.northropgrumman.com), and Southwest Airlines (https://www.southwest.com/).

To learn more about the Our Ocean conference and the Our Ocean, One Future: Leadership Summit, please go to http://ourocean2016.org/#event.

To learn more about EarthEcho International and the Youth Leadership Council, please visit www.earthecho.org.

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