The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, under the effective Presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, Patron of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Alliance, actively participated in the “African Consultation in preparation for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference,” organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Moroccans Residing Abroad, the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, the National Institute of Halieutic Research, with the support of the United Nations, on October 9, 2024, as well as the “Blue Africa Summit” organized by the Academy of the Kingdom on October 10, 2024.

On the sidelines of these conferences, the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection and the Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Moroccans Residing Abroad, the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, the National Institute of Halieutic Research, as well as the Academy of the Kingdom, organized an online consultation of African youth in support of the ocean on Monday, October 7, 2024. 

The aim of this consultation was to listen to African youth, particularly their recommendations and perspectives on the ocean, and to enhance and capitalize on the ocean’s potential for sustainable development in Africa. More than 500 young Africans took part in the consultation, which addressed four main themes: ocean governance and policy frameworks; science-based decision-making and research; cooperation and mobilization of funding; capacity building and stakeholder engagement.

The messages conveyed by African youth during this consultation resonated on October 9 in Tangier at the “African Consultation in preparation for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference,” presented jointly by Lewis Kimau Kimaru, a young Kenyan innovator and laureate of the African Youth Climate Hub (AYCH) incubation program. He is also the founder of “Seamore,” a technology powered by artificial intelligence for seabed analysis, aimed at improving the understanding and preservation of marine biodiversity, and Sophia Larissa, Ocean Literacy Taskteam, Africa Ocean Literacy Hub Coordinator, and PHD Researcher specialized in Law of the sea and International Investment Law.

On October 10, managers from the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection provided their constructive perspectives at the “Blue Africa Summit” on blue economy and blue finance. Furthermore, Victor Amusa, a Nigerian innovator and laureate of the African Youth Climate Hub (AYCH), presented “WasteBazaar,” a clean technology offering an on-demand waste collection service and an incentivized recycling service for urban residents facing the emerging waste management crisis, in order to preserve our ocean from upstream plastic waste through the circular economy.