EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network joins with Wise Use of Caribbean Wetlands Project to launch National Creative Young Voices for Wetlands Competition for World Wetlands Day 2026
The EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network (ESFN), in partnership with the Wise Use of Caribbean Wetlands Project, is proud to announce the launch of the Creative Young Voices for Wetlands Competition in recognition of World Wetlands Day 2026. Under the official 2026 global theme: “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage, the competition invites students across Antigua and Barbuda to explore, illustrate, and reimagine the deep connection between wetlands and our communities.
Youth are invited to submit within their age bracket via three (3) categories: Writing, Photography and Art. Through poems, short stories, essays, drawings, digital art, and paintings, students are encouraged to reflect on how wetlands nurture our health, economy, environment, and why protecting them is important for future generations.
Submissions are open now until January 26th, 2026, giving youth an ideal opportunity to take on a meaningful creative project at the start of the new year. Parents, guardians, and teachers are encouraged to discuss the importance of wetlands, from climate resilience to cultural identity and the shared responsibility to protect them. Winners will be announced on February 2nd, 2026, World Wetlands Day.
As part of the Ecoshores Sustainable Futures Network’s (ESFN) month-long celebration of World Wetlands Day 2026, winning entries will be featured throughout the month of February across social media, exhibitions, and community events. All entries will be featured in ESFN’s Endeavour Publication. The Creative Young Voices for Wetlands competition aligns with national pride as Antigua & Barbuda hosts the Codrington Lagoon, a RAMSAR-designated wetland site, under the Wetlands Convention.
Wetlands are among the world’s most productive ecosystems, providing natural coastal protection from storms and erosion, critical habitats for fish, birds, and endangered species, nursery grounds for marine life that support local fishing livelihoods, carbon storage that helps reduce the impacts of climate change, freshwater filtration that keeps communities healthier, and cultural and recreational value that enriches community life. In Antigua and Barbuda, wetlands and mangroves play a particularly essential role in safeguarding coastal communities and sustaining biodiversity.
Ecoshores Sustainable Futures Network (ESFN) and the Wise Use Of Caribbean Wetlands Project invite all youth to participate in this inspiring national initiative. Detailed submission guidelines can be found via the following link: ecosfn.com/young-voices-for-wetlands-competion-criteria and participants can submit their entries via this link: https://qrco.de/bgYRqF
Prizes will be awarded to participants whose submissions demonstrate ESFN’s core pillar of Expression, along with creativity, originality, and cultural heritage.
This World Wetlands Day, we celebrate our wetlands while nurturing creative thinking, environmental stewards, and climate resilience advocates among our young people. All winning and shortlisted submissions will be featured in ESFN’s Endeavour Publication and highlighted across partner projects and platforms, giving students national visibility for their creativity and environmental leadership.
About EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network
The EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network (ESFN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainability, environmental conservation, and community empowerment across Small Island Developing States (SIDS). ESFN works to address key challenges, including climate justice, biodiversity, youth development, technology innovation, and education. Through initiatives such as the ESFN Volunteer Explorer Program, World Wetlands Day Awareness, Build Your Future, Community Swim Program, and the Endeavour Publication. ESFN fosters innovative solutions and inspires action to protect marine and coastal ecosystems. ESFN strives to create a more resilient and sustainable future for all. ESFN has committed to supporting creative media and cultural expression of vulnerable communities with a focus on youth. ESFN’s work spans across the Caribbean including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica to begin transformation action.
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About the Wise Use of Caribbean Wetlands Project
The Wise Use of Caribbean Wetlands for Climate Change Mitigation and Conservation of their Ecosystem Services project addresses the growing threats facing wetlands across the Caribbean due to land use change, climate impacts, and limited management frameworks. Wetlands in the region play a critical role in biodiversity conservation, coastal protection, livelihoods, and climate resilience, yet many are increasingly degraded and vulnerable.
Through the application of integrated coastal zone management, maritime spatial planning, improved monitoring, and strengthened planning tools, the project supports enhanced legislation, regulation, and long-term governance of wetlands. Lessons learned and methodologies developed are designed to be replicable across other Ramsar Sites in the Caribbean.
The regional project is implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) across Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Suriname.
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