Ocean Futures Youth Forum

𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺
𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 (𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆), 𝟮𝗽𝗺 – 𝟰𝗽𝗺
𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮, 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟰
𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀
What does it mean to care for the ocean today—and who is responsible for shaping its future?
In conjunction with Youth Day, Ocean Futures Youth Forum brings together a new generation of advocates, educators, and innovators to reimagine our relationship with the ocean. This forum builds on the themes explored in Into the Ocean: Journey Beneath, extending the conversation to consider how young voices can be active contributors to marine sustainability by spotlighting forms of youth advocacy that shift beyond awareness to agency.
Through a dynamic mix of talks and open dialogue, Ocean Futures foregrounds how youth-led initiatives are responding to urgent challenges facing marine ecosystems, from biodiversity loss to marine pollution. Across presentations, the forum moves between multidisciplinary approaches of engineering technology, wildlife conservation and urban planning to examine alternative methods of care and advocacy. Situated in Singapore and connected to wider regional contexts, Ocean Futures highlights how local action can resonate at a global scale, and how young voices can engender active change.
As part of ArtScience Museum’s Future Voices strand, this forum positions young people as co-authors of the museum’s evolving practice. It invites participants to engage with new frameworks of stewardship, collaboration and responsibility, while imagining what more resilient, ocean-conscious futures might look like.
Ocean Futures features youth advocates and community leaders from 𝗞𝗮𝗶𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗟𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗸𝗜𝗻𝗦𝗚, 𝗡𝗧𝗨 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝗡𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗱𝘆𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀! and 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗳𝘀, each bringing distinct perspectives on environmental action and engagement. Collectively, these voices offer ideas and pathways that inspire us to consider how we as individuals might take part in shaping the future of our blue planet.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄
2pm – 2.05pm
Welcome and Introduction by 𝗭𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗼 𝗫𝗶𝗻 (Senior Curator of Public Programmes at ArtScience Museum)
2.05pm – 2.15pm
Opening Remarks by 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗵𝘂 𝗤𝗶𝗻 (Co-Founder, Our Singapore Reefs)
2.15pm – 2.30pm
𝗡𝗧𝗨 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻’s 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗵 (Chief Operating Officer), 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗺 (Chief Executive Officer) and 𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝘂𝘀 𝗬𝗲𝗼 (Mechanical Lead) discuss their development of autonomous underwater vehicles to combat real-world ocean challenges, examining how collaborative and innovative frameworks can envision responsible engineering applications
2.30pm – 2.45pm
𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗼 (Founder, Kaia Initiative) shares about Kaia Initiative’s journey in fostering youth engagement through scuba exploration and other conservation initiatives, reflecting on the process of growing community networks and building a youth platform for advocacy.
2.45pm – 3pm
𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗬𝗮𝗽 (Student Volunteer, NUS Toddycats!) extends the conversation beyond a focus on ocean bodies to interconnecting marine ecosystems, discussing how NUS Toddycats’ conservation work around Singapore's local mangroves contributes to capacity building and long-term sustainability.
3pm – 3.15pm
𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗵 (Land Use Planning Co-lead, LepakInSG) presents a perspective from policy making and urban planning, reflecting on the development issues threatening Singapore’s marine biodiversity while sharing how to engage public stakeholders to push for effective change.
3.15pm - 4pm
Q&A with 𝗡𝗧𝗨 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗼, 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗬𝗮𝗽 and 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗵, moderated by 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆𝗻 𝗢𝗻𝗴 (Production and Curatorial Specialist, ArtScience Museum)

𝗔 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
While the forum is anchored in youth perspectives, it remains intentionally open to participants of all ages. Environmental advocacy is a shared, intergenerational effort, and Ocean Futures Youth Forum welcomes both emerging changemakers and those supporting youth-led initiatives to take part in the dialogue.