The ocean sustains us — and this year, I got to help tell its story.
In the lead-up to the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean Area (UNIC) launched a digital campaign that transformed the global "Save Our Seas" call into an urgent SOS for the Caribbean region.
As the Digital Communications Intern at UNIC, I contributed by creating multimedia content aimed at raising awareness about deteriorating ocean health and spotlighting local actions to reverse these trends.
Our mission resonated deeply with me, both professionally and personally as a Caribbean youth. Though our land masses may be modest as a region of small island developing State (SIDS), we in the Caribbean see ourselves as the stewards of vast ocean territories, reflected by our expansive maritime borders.
Voices from the Field: Expert Interviews
A central feature of the campaign was a series of on-camera interviews with experts from across the marine conservation space. I had the opportunity to conduct the interviews, which allowed me to speak with scientists from CSA Ocean Sciences, a local fisherman from Carli Bay Fishing Association, the Technical Coordinator of regional fisheries projects, and even the UN Resident Coordinator for Trinidad and Tobago.
Each interviewee offered unique yet equally significant insights into the state of the ocean, highlighting regional challenges like plastic pollution and ‘ghost fishing’ — a phenomenon which refers to abandoned or lost fishing gear that continues to trap and kill marine life long after it's no longer in use.
From policy perspectives to personal experiences, these conversations highlighted our interconnectedness with the ocean—and the urgency with which we must act to protect it. Having the opportunity to sit down with and learn from such influential voices was an incredibly rewarding experience.
Community Action: Shore Love Initiative
Another meaningful part of the campaign involved amplifying the efforts of local actors working to save our ocean. At Yarra Beach, on Trinidad and Tobago’s picturesque north coast, we collaborated with the Blanchisseuse community’s "Shore Love" initiative to capture authentic moments of ocean stewardship. Volunteers of all ages joined together to clean the coastline, collect plastics, and restore the beach’s natural beauty, aligned with the global World Environment Day mission to Beat Plastic Pollution.
I helped to interview participants, asking why they had come out, what the ocean meant to them, and why protecting it was so important. Their simple but powerful responses guided my creation of an engaging Instagram reel that I hope will inspire more communities to take action.
As a photographer, I documented the event through visual storytelling, capturing the collective joy, purpose, and passion of everyone involved. These images later served as the visual backdrop to an episode of UNIC’s "Caribbean Voice Note Series," which explained the importance of the 2025 themes for World Environment Day and World Oceans Day.
Alongside the video content produced, with a colleague, I identified key themes to address in a series of introductory cards for the campaign.
Supporting Regional Coordination
At UNIC, I also discovered how critical it is to support the six UN Resident Coordinator Offices that lead UN Country Teams within our region. In addition to creating our own campaign materials, we supported the live-streaming of "Charting a Blue Future," a national ocean conference hosted by the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Trinidad and Tobago. The event featured an expert panel that thoroughly examined regional marine policies. Our UNIC Caribbean team ensured the session was broadcast live on Facebook, engaging viewers throughout the Caribbean and globally.
Operating a video camera feed for this live stream provided me with an opportunity to learn an entirely new skill. Adjusting camera angles in real-time to keep pace with the dialogue was both an intense and exhilarating experience! I emerged with new confidence and valuable technical expertise.
Skills and Impact
Throughout this campaign—from beach clean-ups to live broadcasts—I learned tremendously. I captured photographs, managed interviews, worked behind the camera, and helped shape messages across digital platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X. Together, we created content that was not only beautiful and meaningful, but also impactful.
Being trusted, as an intern, to contribute to such a significant initiative was truly special. As the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice is over, I felt proud that our Caribbean voices were heard and had become part of the global conversation.
Conferences end—the ocean crisis doesn't. Join the movement by following our ongoing work @CaribbeanUN, organizing cleanups in your area, or simply starting conversations about ocean health in your community. Our seas are calling—will you answer?
