PICRC Participates in Tide Turners Regional Workshop in Samoa

On June 5–6, PICRC’s Communication and Outreach Officer, Lucy Dickie, participated in the Tide Turners Train-the-Trainer Regional Workshop held in Apia, Samoa. The two-day event focused on the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge Toolkit, an initiative designed to empower young people to tackle plastic pollution through awareness, community engagement, and advocacy for policy change.

The Tide Turners Plastic Challenge is a structured, competitive program that guides youth through a series of levels and quests, earning badges and certification upon completion. This global initiative has successfully engaged over 800,000 young people across 50 countries, making it the world’s largest youth led movement against plastic waste.

With plastic pollution posing a significant threat to marine ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide, the workshop aimed to build the capacity of leaders across the Pacific to expand the reach of this initiative. The program has already been implemented in countries including the Canary Islands, India, Samoa, Tonga, and Cameroon.

Day one of the workshop was centered on the Tide Turners Toolkit and how to use it effectively in schools and youth groups. Participants explored the structure of the challenge, practical ways to deliver it, and strategies to engage youth through interactive activities and local adaptation. On the second day, participants explored the intersection of human rights and environmental issues. The Associate Human Rights Officer from UN Human Rights spoke about the link between plastic pollution and human rights, emphasizing the need to frame environmental challenges as human rights concerns, particularly in the Pacific. The health of the ocean is a global concern, and in Palau, it is deeply connected to the wellbeing of its people and marine life, with plastic pollution threatening both coastal ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.

The workshop concluded with a presentation from the Samoa Conservation Society, which highlighted local environmental efforts including forest, butterfly, bird, and water monitoring. A networking session followed, allowing delegates and representatives from the Pacific to exchange ideas and discuss shared challenges.

Programs like the Tide Turners Challenge strengthen PICRC’s ability to drive youth-led solutions and raise awareness about the growing threat of plastic pollution. “Attending this workshop equipped me with the knowledge and skills for PICRC to collaborate with schools and implement this program across Palau, empowering youth to take practical, proactive steps to reduce plastic reliance in the Pacific, an issue that will have a lasting impact on their future,” said Lucy Dickie, PICRC’s Communication and Outreach Officer.
Participation in this workshop was made possible through funding from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the GEF Islands Project, and the Palau National Olympic Committee.