Blue Water Heroes

In collaboration with Tatler Gen.T, this event is specially curated to support, promote, and inspire young and passionate eco-champions to push the boundaries of marine conservation in their communities.

3 NOVEMBER

This platform provides a space for young eco-champions to pitch their ideas to our generous sponsors for funding and resources to further implement their conservation projects and efforts for the ocean.

Nominations are now closed.

Winners will be announced during the awards night at ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove Singapore on 3rd November 2023.    
3 NOVEMBER

This platform provides a space for young eco-champions to pitch their ideas to our generous sponsors for funding and resources to further implement their conservation projects and efforts for the ocean.

Nominations are now closed.

Winners will be announced during the awards night at ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove Singapore on 3rd November 2023.

Blue Water Heroes 2022

Highlights from the first edition of our Blue Water Heroes Awards, powered by Tatler Gen.T.

Blue Water Heroes 2023 Finalists

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Christine Armour
Paul Foster
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Winners of Blue Water Heroes 2022

1st Place: Melati Riyanto Wijsen

Founder, Bye Bye Plastic Bags and YOUTHTOPIA

Melati Wijsen’s fight to save our planet and its oceans began even before she became a teenager. Bye Bye Plastic Bags (BBPB), which she co-founded with her sister Isabel, vowed to stop single use of plastic bags through awareness and educational campaigns and provoking action by the authorities. BBPB has since mobilised over 100,000 people in over 300 locations on the island of Bali, and collected over 100,000 pieces of plastic. Not only is it today one of the largest youth-led organisations in Indonesia, it has 60 volunteer-led teams around the world.

In 2019, Melati also founded Youthtopia, a mentoring platform that empowers aspiring youth changemakers such as herself. Last year, a film on her titled Bigger than Us was released — and is currently premiering around the world. The film, which is directed by French director Flore Vasseur and produced by Marion Cotillard, follows Melati as she journeys around the world to find like minded peers who can help her in her life mission and accelerate the rate of change required.

 

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2nd Place: Thanda Ko Gyi

Founder, Myanmar Ocean Project

Witnessing the devastation a single fishing net could cause to marine life, pushed this passionate diver deeper into marine conservation and to found Myanmar’s first non-profit ocean conservation organisation, Myanmar Ocean Project. She has since 2018 dedicated her life to researching the scope and impact of Abandoned, Lost, or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Myanmar. In 2019, with support from the National Geographic Society, Ocean Conservancy, and Global Ghost Gear Initiative, Thanda and her team set out on a year-long expedition into the Myeik Archipelago to find out more about ALDFG.

Her organisation has so far surveyed nearly 90 sites around the archipelago, removed over 1,800 kilograms of harmful fishing nets from marine ecosystems and saved hundreds of marine animals. They also stay with the fishing communities and work with them to identify ALDFG hotspots, learn about the causes of discarded fishing gear and find out how it impacts their way of life — a work that has continued despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanda is currently working with Thant Myanmar to contribute data on discarded fishing gear for a World Bank project about plastics pollution in Myanmar.

 

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3rd Place: Dr Louisa Ponnampalam

Co-Founder, Marecet Research Organization

She is the co-founder of The MareCet Research, the first and only non-profit NGO in Malaysia that is dedicated to the research and conservation of marine mammals in Malaysia. Pronounced ma-rei-set, a combination of the Latin word “mar” for sea and Cetacean, the scientific grouping of whales, dolphins and porpoises, the organisation is the Cetacean ecologist’s realization of a childhood dream to protect the rich bio-diversity beneath our waters. Ten years into its conception, MareCet is today recognised locally and globally as one of the leading organisations for marine biodiversity conservation in the region and has taken giant strides towards its goal to promote marine stewardship within the society at large in Malaysia,

It currently has four research projects across peninsular Malaysia, and has also engaged more than 4,000 students via various outreach and education programmes. In 2019, three of its field research sites were recognised as Important Marine Mammal Areas by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, based on MareCet’s findings.

 

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Panel of Judges

Presenting 2023 panel of judges for the upcoming Blue Water Heroes Awards

Arthur Tay

Chairman & CEO, SUTL Group

Paul Foster

Entertainment Personality & Environmentalist

Christine Amour-Levar

Founder, Her Planet Earth

Janet Shum

Sustainable Investing Specialist, APAC, Citi Global Wealth

Chong Seow Wei

Regional Senior Editor, Tatler Gen.T

Dr. Winston Chow

Associate Professor of Urban Climate, Singapore Management University

Dr. Toh Tai Chong

Senior Lecturer, National University of Singapore

Arthur Tay

Chairman & CEO, SUTL Group

Paul Foster

Entertainment Personality & Environmentalist

Christine Amour-Levar

Founder, Her Planet Earth

Janet Shum

Sustainable Investing Specialist, APAC, Citi Global Wealth

Chong Seow Wei

Regional Senior Editor, Tatler Gen.T

Dr. Winston Chow

Associate Professor of Urban Climate, Singapore Management University

Dr. Toh Tai Chong

Senior Lecturer, National University of Singapore

Criteria for nomination

They have made a positive impact in advocating for and protecting marine life environment in the last 24 months.

They are primarily based in Southeast Asia or have made significant impact in the region.

They are an individual advocate or leader of a non-profit or NGO advancing society's awareness of ocean conservation through education or community to create scalable impact.

They are the founder, co-founder or head of a social enterprise that is improving marine health and sustainability using technology-enabled solutions.

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Arthur Tay

Chairman & CEO, SUTL Group

Mr Arthur Tay is an Executive Director and CEO of the Company and is responsible for the overall management of the Group. He was first appointed as Non-Executive Director in January 2010 and was last re-elected in April 2021. He was made the CEO of the Company on 1 May 2010.

Mr Tay is also the Executive Chairman and CEO of the SUTL Group of Companies, a family-owned, professionally-managed lifestyle consumer goods and services enterprise, which has businesses globally. He is also an active philanthropist and grassroots leader.

He holds an MBA in Real Estate and Finance.

Paul Foster

Entertainment Personality & Environmentalist.

Paul Foster is a local Singaporean of mixed British/Chinese heritage and is an entertainment industry veteran of 20 years as a host, actor and model.

Representing himself around the South East Asian region, Paul has covered acting for film and TV, ventured into travel, sports and info-tainment hosting and has emceed live events for product/store launches, Gala Dinners, press conferences and other various media events.

Aside from his career on stage and screen, he is passionate about sustainability for both the planet and people. Finding this balance in both life and career is so important, and Paul hopes his efforts in doing so can create more awareness and inspire others to do the same.

Christine Amour-Levar

Founder, Her Planet Earth

Christine Amour-Levar is a French-Swiss-Filipina social entrepreneur, philanthropist, and climate Investors. Having started her global career with Nike, she honed her skills as a sustainability and human rights advisor. She founded two impactful NGOs: Women on a Mission, promoting women’s education and skills amidst adversity, and HER Planet Earth, emphasising climate resiliency for marginalised women through wildlife conservation, coral restoration and sustainable agriculture projects.

Christine’s notable affiliations as a board member include the Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), Investible VC focused on Climate Tech, Zero Waste Singapore, and the Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation of the Philippines. Recognised with international accolades such as the GGEF Woman Eco Gamechanger Award 2022, and named one of the “Women of the Future Southeast Asia Leading Lights” by the Financial Times, she is a key voice in Asia’s corporate sustainability and environmental rights arena, based in Singapore.

Janet Shum

Sustainable Investing Specialist, APAC, Citi Global Wealth

Janet Shum is a Sustainable Investing Specialist for the Asia Pacific region. In this role, she manages Citi Global Wealth Investment’s sustainable investing platform as it relates to product management, thought leadership and client engagement. She also works in partnership with Citi’s investment divisions to help ensure that the integration of sustainability objectives aligns with Citi’s best thinking on portfolio management, research and asset allocation.

Janet has over seven years of consulting experience in managing numerous international advisory, business development, research and engagement projects relating to sustainability, sustainable and impact investing as well as strategic philanthropy. Janet was a Manager at KPMG, Sustainable Services in Singapore. She also worked as a consultant with Yunus Social Business, a social business fund and various non-profit organizations in Hong Kong involved in social impact.

Prior to consulting, Janet worked at Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management and HSBC Personal Financial Services in Hong Kong, where she served ultra-high-net-worth clients and retail clients in the Greater China region, respectively.

Janet holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD, a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford, as well as certificates in Sustainable Finance and ESG Investing from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and the CFA Institute, respectively.

Chong Seow Wei

Regional Senior Editor, Tatler Gen.T

Chong Seow Wei is the regional senior editor of Tatler Gen.T, Tatler Asia’s community-focused content and events platform for the Leaders of Tomorrow. Its mission is to discover, support and help catalyse the impact of Asia’s most promising young leaders. The brand operates in eight markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Dr. Winston Chow

Associate Professor of Urban Climate, Singapore Management University

Dr Winston Chow is an Associate Professor of Urban Climate and Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow based at Singapore Management University’s (SMU) College of Integrative Studies. He researches and teaches on urban climate impacts and sustainability in SMU, and is also the co-Lead Principal Investigator for the multi-institute Cooling Singapore Initiative. Dr. Chow was also a lead author in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest assessment on urban climate impacts and adaptation, as well as on the vulnerability of coastal cities to climate change.

In July 2023, he was elected as Co-Chair of the IPCC’s Working Group II, which focuses on the impacts, vulnerability and adaptation of climate change for the Seventh Assessment Cycle from 2023-2030. The IPCC is the United Nation’s authoritative body that assesses and provides climate change information for governments and other global stakeholders.

Dr. Toh Tai Chong

Senior Lecturer, National University of Singapore

Dr. Toh Tai Chong is a marine biologist and he currently lectures in a residential college in the National University of Singapore. For the past ten years, he has been working with local communities in Southeast Asia to conserve coral reefs and to develop reef restoration techniques. To date, he has published more than 50 publications related to marine conservation. Within the college, he collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to teach topics related to sustainability and conservation.

Outside of work, he is the co-founder of Our Singapore Reefs and he works closely with private and public sectors to reduce the impacts of marine debris. He speaks frequently at local schools on a range of environmental issues and has facilitated workshops for school teachers to develop their environmental education curriculum.