Impact

2016

The inaugural collaborative youth advocacy campaign brought 12 delegates from three countries to the United Nations for World Ocean Day and Washington D.C. to directly advocate for policies to advance ocean protection. A social media campaign reached 208,667 in less than one week, and the live streamed SYRUP World Ocean Day session attracted audiences from 12 countries. Meetings with government and public officials provided a chance for delegates to successfully advocate for ocean conservation. Notably, one of the meetings - at the White House with the entire team at the Council on Environmental Quality - helped lead to the designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument a few months later.

2017

The youth delegation participated in the World Oceans Festival on June 4 in New York City where they led an Ocean Advocacy March, highlighted solutions to critical ocean conservation issues through a Youth Rally for the Ocean which was broadcast live via Facebook, and met with global ocean leaders. The initiative received the World Ocean Festival's Turn the Tides Award, presented to SYRUP’s founders by the President of the United Nations General Assembly .

2018

Youth delegates met with the U.S. Senate Ocean Caucus on Capitol Hill and shared their vision for meaningful youth engagement in ocean protection through a live broadcast that reached an international audience of over 6,000 people. Then they took part in the inaugural March for the Ocean around the White House with thousands of other ocean advocates. The march was immediately followed by a rally where the seven delegates called on attendees to increase youth engagement in the development of ocean policy. In addition to the large crowd present, more than 50,000 people have viewed the rally through Facebook Live! 

2019

The SYRUP 2019 delegation participated in many sessions during Capitol Hill Ocean Week. They also  held several meetings with Congressional offices, including House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva’s Senior Policy Advisor, the staff director of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where the delegation advocated for increased funding for NOAA initiatives and plastic pollution legislation. On World Ocean Day, June 8, the delegates attended a river and park cleanup at Anacostia Park with United By Blue, where they joined with 200 volunteers to collect nearly 1,000 pounds of mostly plastic debris in less than three hours.

2020-2022

Due to COVID-19, SYRUP did not have a delegation going to Washington, DC for these years. Instead, SYRUP 2020 efforts integrated into a newly-developed virtual opportunity, called Youth-a-thon,  for June 2020 and June 2021. A 24-hour livestream event, this unique event allowed young people to learn more about conservation efforts and environmental issues, connect with a global community of diverse change makers, and join the movement to take action to protect our blue planet. Each Youth-a-thon ran for 24 hours, with 24 one-hour sessions, mostly led by youth (with National Geographic and CNN hosting two sessions) and focused on 24 interrelated topics, each with a call to action. Throughout each of the sessions, youth were provided opportunities to help grow the global movement to protect 30% of our land, waters, and ocean (30x30) and push national and world leaders to take action to protect our planet.

2023

The SYRUP Delegation returned to D.C., with 10 youth from eight states, recruited by Big Blue & You, EarthEcho International, and The Ocean Project. Delegates spoke in two Capitol Hill Ocean Week sessions and met with numerous governmental and nongovernmental leaders for ocean and climate conservation. Delegates participated in the first-ever White House Ocean Justice Roundtable with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory and other leaders from the Administration, met with the ocean policy lead and other representatives at the White House CEQ , and had a special side meeting at CHOW with US State Department Acting Assistant Secretary JR Littlejohn. The group spent an entire day on the Hill, meeting with representatives and senators. They also co-hosted the Social for the Sea, an intergenerational networking event with approximately 50 youth, leaders from conservation organizations, representatives from NOAA, indigenous leaders, and others from youth-focused organizations.