About Us

We Are MOYA!

The Malaysia Ocean Youth Ambassadors (MOYA) offers a platform to young, passionate Malaysians between the ages of 18-26 to flex their eco-muscles and harness their leadership skills as future change-makers in climate action. MOYA works closely with marine and coastal communities in Sabah, understanding how the changing environment impacts their lives on a daily basis.

MOYA aims to

Empowering Youths To Mobilize Climate Action Through Environmental Education and Storytelling with Marine and Coastal Communities

Youth Empowerment

To nurture and empower youths to play active roles in climate change awareness and mitigation

Storytelling

To harness the power of storytelling to engage and connect communities with sustainable practices

What We Do

Our Ambassadors train under creative industry experts – including seasoned filmmakers, journalists and photographers –  to use their platform of their choice to tell their Climate Stories

Thematic workshops and community visits

Youths participate in thematic workshops and community visits covering topics on climate change, leadership and capacity-building. They meet, learn and work with leading experts, conservationists, policy-makers, elders, communities and youth leaders during these activities.

 Develop their own Passion Projects

As they build knowledge and are exposed to the many facets of climate change solutions, participants enter the project planning phase to develop their own Passion Projects under the guidance of mentors. In May 2022, they presented their projects in a Pitch Session where the most viable projects will received a seed funding from the GEF-Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to kick-start their project.

Network with like-minded youths

Along the way, participants get to network with like-minded youths to exchange ideas and find inspiration through local and national conferences, seminars and conventions (many of which were done virtually at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). MOYA is already linked with the Australian chapter of Ocean Youth and works closely with the Marine Research Foundation (MRF), based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Thematic workshops and community visits

Youths participate in thematic workshops and community visits covering topics on climate change, leadership and capacity-building. They meet, learn and work with leading experts, conservationists, policy-makers, elders, communities and youth leaders during these activities.

 Develop their own Passion Projects

As they build knowledge and are exposed to the many facets of climate change solutions, participants enter the project planning phase to develop their own Passion Projects under the guidance of mentors. In May 2022, they presented their projects in a Pitch Session where the most viable projects will received a seed funding from the GEF-Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to kick-start their project.

Network with like-minded youths

Along the way, participants get to network with like-minded youths to exchange ideas and find inspiration through local and national conferences, seminars and conventions (many of which were done virtually at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). MOYA is already linked with the Australian chapter of Ocean Youth and works closely with the Marine Research Foundation (MRF), based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Our Team

Melissa Leong

Programme Director/Founder

Nadine S. Mopilin

Team Coordinator/Mentor

Tang Chung Ngo

Team Coordinator/Mentor

Pamela Fletcher

Project Advisor