Taiwan Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA), Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) collaborates with US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and North American Association for Environm ental Education (NAAEE) through Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP) to launch ‘2022 Youth Innovation Challenge (YIC): Tackling Marine Debris. ’ This challenge calls for fresh ideas of tackling marine debris issues via environmental education approach, and invites applicants between the ages of 15-30 years to propose a so lution to marine debris. A Total of 15 finalists of YIC will receive a Youth Innovation certificate and be shared through social media. Furthermore, three (3) winners will be chose n from the finalists, and will receive a $1,000 USD grant. “Since the marine debris issues have become a worldwide and concerning problem, source reduction would be the priority to address. Approaches like monitoring, investigation, clean up and community engagement are also needed. YIC hunts for the solutions from the youngsters around the world not only gives them a chance to come up with innovative ideas but also raises the public engaging to this pressing issue. We look forward to collecting creative ways to tackle marine debris via events like this. The pilot program last year received a total 144 applications from 43 countries. It was a huge success! ” – Julia Hsiang-Wen Huang, Director General, Ocean Conservation Administration, Taiwan. "We are thrilled to partner again with the Taiwan Ocean Conservation Administration to announce the 2022 Youth Innovation Challenge. The YIC provides an amazing opportunity to reco gnize young leaders working to solve the issue of marine debris. We were so inspired by applicants ’ innovative solutions in our inaugural Youth Innovation Challenge last year, and we ’re excited to see the passion and ingenuity that this year ’s applicants will surely bring. " – Judy Braus, Executive Director, North American Association for Environmental Education.   Submissions will be collected during June 29th to September 1st, for further information of this program, please check out GEEP ’s website: https://thegeep.org/youth-innovation-challenge   Responsible entity and spokesperson: OCA Deputy Director-General Hsin-Chen Sung Phone:07-3382057 #262021 or 0905-205669 Date: June/9/2022