A 44-strong contingent will spend time on Mo'orea during their time in French Polynesia for the Tiaki Moana Workshop and Summit.
Growing up surrounded by the ocean in Guåhan, Ashley Hope Castro’s upbringing has shaped her deep passion for preserving the precious resource.
The 28-year-old works as a Coral Restoration Technician at the University of Guam Marine Lab while pursuing her master’s degree and has been selected to take part in the United States Department of State’s Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) program.
She is one of a 43-strong YPL contingent heading to French Polynesia for the Tiaki Moana Summit and Workshop taking place in Tahiti, Mo’orea and Ra’iatea, from March 24-28, 2025.
Young Pacific Leader Ashley Hope Castro from Guam will attend the Tiaki Moana Summit and Workshop in French Polynesia.
For Ashley Hope, the summit is a chance to enhance her knowledge and utilize it in Guam, where she is dedicating her career to protecting the unique ecosystems of her island home.
“I hope to gain a deeper understanding of innovative practices and leadership skills that I can bring back to Guam,” Ashley Hope says.
“My goal is to engage the local community in proactive efforts and to implement adaptive methods that ensure the resilience of our reefs in the face of natural disasters.”
Ashley Hope, who aims to inspire her community to take an active role in fostering ocean prosperity, says she is excited about networking with stakeholders, and connecting with her Pacific peers, during the upcoming workshop in French Polynesia.
This is the first time, a YPL workshop has been staged in French Polynesia, and fellow YPL participant and PhD student Anuata Tetuanui is looking forward to contributing to the workshop, in her home country.
With a master’s degree in Oceanian Island Environment studies and a PhD underway, 28-year-old Anuata says she feels the summit fits perfectly with her interests and aspirations – to help protect ocean prosperity and empower communities.
Tahiti-based Anuata Tetuanui is looking forward to collaborating with her fellow Young Pacific Leaders in French Polynesia.
The YPL program was established to strengthen leadership development and networking in the Pacific through addressing shared challenges, within the focus areas of prosperity, security and resilience.
Leaders are aged between 20-35 years old, and come from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii.
Throughout next week, YPL participants will collaborate with Pacific, international, and US experts in ocean prosperity while exploring potential for other interdisciplinary sciences.
Through hands-on activities and discussions and their own contribution to the workshop, they will build capacity in innovative strategies, policy development, and community engagement, all while contributing to ocean prosperity, biodiversity security and sustainable environmental management across the Pacific region.
Tiaki Moana gets underway on March 24 with an official opening at the Présidence De La Polynésie Française (Presidential Palace) in Pape’ete.
The workshop is a precursor to the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France.
It is anticipated selected YPL participants will travel to France, to present preliminary outcomes from Tiaki Moana at UNOC3, in June.
Visit the Tiaki Moana website for more information on the summit and the Young Pacific Leaders website for more details on the US Department of State initiative.
