Arianna Beeray Reflects on Highlights as a 2025 High Seas Youth Ambassador
This blog post was authored by Arianna Berray, a 2025 EarthEcho High Seas Youth Ambassador.
Arianna Beeray’s campaign advanced youth-led advocacy, public awareness, and multi-stakeholder engagement around ocean conservation and the High Seas (BBNJ) Treaty at the national, regional, and international levels.
“The High Seas Ambassador Program transformed my advocacy from passion into purpose and solidified the importance of intergenerational responsibility for me. It gave me the tools, platform, and confidence to translate complex ocean policy into youth-led action that resonated locally, nationally, and regionally."
The campaign began with direct international engagement at the BBNJ Preparatory Commission Meetings in New York, where Arianna participated in multi-stakeholder dialogue on advancing implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. She engaged with youth leaders, civil society representatives, and policy stakeholders, including members of the High Seas Alliance, to exchange strategies for strengthening national advocacy. Through targeted social media posts, she amplified key insights from the meetings, emphasizing the global importance of the treaty for marine biodiversity conservation and equitable access to ocean resources, reaching 54 individuals directly.
As a young Caribbean advocate, the program validated that our voices belong in global ocean governance spaces and empowered me to engage policymakers, civil society, and fellow youth with clarity and conviction. This experience has strengthened my commitment to ensuring the High Seas (BBNJ) Treaty is not just understood, but championed across the Caribbean.” - Arianna Beeray
This international engagement was reinforced through Arianna’s participation in the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum, where she represented Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean youth perspectives. Contributing to discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly climate action (SDG 13), gender equality (SDG 5), and life below water (SDG 14), she integrated the High Seas Treaty into broader development conversations and called for stronger, more meaningful youth participation in multilateral processes. These contributions reached approximately 1,800 online viewers, including registered forum participants.
At the national level, Arianna was invited to contribute to a focus group consultation on the revision of Trinidad and Tobago’s National Strategy for Biodiversity (NBSAP). During this consultation, she introduced the concept of the High Seas and the BBNJ Agreement, advocating for the formal inclusion of ocean conservation and marine biodiversity within the national biodiversity framework, an area previously absent from the policy. This engagement ensured youth perspectives and ocean governance considerations were reflected in national biodiversity planning and involved 18 youth advocates, 6 experts, and 3 coordinating staff from the Environmental Management Authority.
Arianna continued national advocacy through participation in “Charting a Blue Future: Trinidad and Tobago’s Pathway to the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC)”, a conference convened by the United Nations in Trinidad and Tobago in collaboration with the French Embassy. She discussed the relevance of the BBNJ Agreement to Trinidad and Tobago’s sustainable development and ocean governance agenda, engaging 67 participants. This was followed by a high-level reception event concluding the national Blue Economy report, where Arianna engaged policymakers, experts, and youth advocates in discussions on sustainable ocean governance and economic opportunities linked to marine resources, reaching an additional 81 participants.
Media outreach formed a key component of the campaign. Arianna participated in multiple television interviews, including appearances on WESN, TV6, and CNC3. Through these interviews, she raised public awareness about ocean conservation, World Ocean Day, the human rights dimensions of environmental protection, and the importance of Trinidad and Tobago signing and ratifying the High Seas Treaty. She also used media platforms to promote upcoming advocacy events, including the National BBNJ Workshop. These television engagements reached a combined 1,178 viewers.
Community-based youth engagement was further strengthened through Ocean Fun Day, hosted in celebration of World Ocean Day at Maqueripe Bay in collaboration with three youth organizations (EcoSeas and Mertrina). This beach-based activation combined educational presentations on the High Seas and ocean conservation with creative activities such as painting marine species, storytelling, and written conservation pledges. The event fostered accessible, hands-on learning and collective action, engaging 18 youth advocates and 3 environmental experts.
A central milestone of the campaign was Arianna’s collaboration with the High Seas Alliance to deliver the National BBNJ Workshop and Ocean Screening on 17 July 2025 at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain. As the first workshop of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago, the event convened over 160 participants from government ministries, academia, civil society, diplomatic missions, and youth networks. Arianna delivered youth remarks emphasizing intergenerational responsibility, inclusive governance, and the urgency of bold political leadership. The workshop culminated in a screening of the documentary Ocean, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, reinforcing the stakes of global ocean protection and generating national media attention.
Complementing these large-scale engagements, Arianna hosted a university-based Youth Consultation focused on ocean conservation and the High Seas Treaty. Designed as a small, interactive session, the consultation provided youth-friendly explanations of the treaty and facilitated open dialogue on its relevance to Trinidad and Tobago. Participants contributed creatively by recording short advocacy videos expressing their support for ocean protection, which were later compiled into a youth compilation video. This consultation directly engaged 14 young people.
Arianna’s advocacy was further amplified through written media, including her contribution to the High Seas Alliance blog, “We Are Not the Spectators, We Are the Players,” which highlighted the importance of meaningful youth participation in ocean governance and reflected on youth engagement emerging from the Trinidad and Tobago BBNJ workshop. Additionally, she was featured prominently in a student-written article, “High Seas Treaty Sails On, Trinidad and Tobago Still Treading Water,” which examined national delays in signing the treaty and underscored the role of youth advocacy in shaping public discourse. This article reached 85 students.
Looking ahead, Arianna Beeray plans to further strengthen youth-led ocean advocacy through the release of an educational infographic linking human rights, environmental rights, and ocean protection, alongside a simplified breakdown of the High Seas (BBNJ) Treaty. She also intends to unveil a youth-created artwork in January 2026 to commemorate the treaty’s entry into force, highlighting youth creativity as a form of advocacy. At the regional level, Arianna aims to establish a Caribbean-led Youth Ocean Advocacy Network, envisioned as a Caribbean Youth High Seas Alliance, to unite youth leaders across CARICOM states and amplify collective regional influence. This initiative will involve collaboration with CARICOM Youth Ambassadors, including fellow High Seas Youth Ambassador Rysha Brown of Jamaica, to ensure inclusive and coordinated regional engagement.
Arianna also plans to continue hosting youth workshops, developing accessible ocean governance resources for SIDS youth, engaging civil society and government stakeholders, and representing youth perspectives at regional and international forums. She intends to retain her role as High Seas Youth Advocate in Trinidad and Tobago, having already planned activities for the coming year, and hopes to continue working closely with the High Seas Alliance, with the long-term goal of contributing in an official capacity.