Brigitta Gunawan is a member of Generation17, a Samsung and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnership empowering young people who are contributing to the Global Goals.

Since 2020, Generation17 has supported Young Leaders worldwide with Samsung Galaxy technology, mentorship and networking opportunities to amplify their stories and solutions.

A snorkeling trip as a teenager off the island of Nusa Penida in Indonesia changed everything for Brigitta Gunawan. The reef was dense with life, fish weaving through coral in extraordinary colors. It was like nothing she had ever seen. Back on shore, one thought stayed with her: most people would never experience this.

Brigitta grew up in Jakarta, an inland industrial city far from reefs, but had always felt drawn to the water. She even took her first steps on a beach in Bali. After a snorkeling trip to Nusa Penida, that connection became something else: a sense of responsibility.

According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), warming oceans, pollution and overfishing have put coral reefs on a devastating trajectory, with up to 90% projected to disappear by 2050. Coral reefs, found in more than 100 countries, are among the most important ecosystems in the ocean — supporting marine life, protecting coastlines and sustaining the communities that depend on them. Globally, more than one billion people depend on healthy oceans for their livelihoods.

“We’re going to lose so much in such a short amount of time,” Brigitta says. “I decided that there’s something that I can do.”

Turning a Hashtag Into a Movement

In 2021, at 17, she launched 30×30 Indonesia, named after the global effort to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. The target, backed by the UN’s Global Goals for climate action (Goal 13) and life below water (Goal 14), is seen as critical to preserving marine ecosystems. She began simply, with a hashtag and a call for people to submit photos holding signs of support. In the first month, over 400 photos poured in, many from schools and youth groups who had never heard of the 2030 target before.

“I had absolutely no experience,” Brigitta says, crediting early mentors. “I just enjoyed going out there and slowly building what it is today.”

Soon, Brigitta expanded beyond social media. Working with a local diving community and village leaders in northeast Bali, she helped design and build a coral garden on the ocean floor — an artificial structure where coral fragments are planted to help degraded reefs recover, even as oceans continue to warm. Over the past five years, her team has planted over 1,400 coral fragments, with a survival rate of up to 86%.

Technology Bringing the Ocean to Everyone

As her coral restoration work grew, a deeper challenge nagged at Brigitta: most people would never set foot in the sea, let alone see a reef in person. “It’s important for people to see the ocean so that they know why we have to save it,” she says.

In 2024, she launched Diverseas, a free education program that uses 360-degree underwater filming to bring reefs into classrooms, supporting the UN’s Global Goal for quality education (Goal 4). Brigitta partners with grassroots conservation organizations worldwide to capture footage. Students slip on headsets and suddenly find themselves beneath the surface, surrounded by coral and other marine life.

Students who live inland have never seen these underwater scenes; by fostering ocean literacy, Brigitta is calling for collective action to protect biodiversity.

Diverseas has since reached more than 20,000 people across 12 countries through workshops, online courses, diver training scholarships, conferences and events. Its focus on immersive ocean literacy makes the undersea world feel real, and worth protecting.

For Brigitta, the goal now is to reach more communities around the world and to continue restoring reefs across Indonesia.

The Next Wave of Ocean Advocates

In coral reef restoration, where the numbers on reef loss can feel overwhelming, Brigitta believes staying optimistic is essential. “For young people, giving up is not an option,” she says. “We have to remain hopeful.”

And the best place to build that hope? The classroom, both physical and virtual. “I believe education is so powerful,” she says. “If you do it right, you inspire young people who become the policymakers of the future.”