Emma Chong, Northern Marianas College student, talks about her ocean conservation documentary, which premiered at the American Memorial Park theater on Friday, Dec. 13.
EMMA Chong, a Northern Marianas College student, premiered her ocean conservation documentary at the American Memorial Park theater on Friday, Dec. 13.
The documentary was created in partnership with the nonprofit organization EarthEcho International.
Titled “Yan Guinaiya,” it is available for public viewing on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/Yan-Guinaiya
Chong told Variety that she was selected to be a 2024 Ocean Protection Ambassador. As part of the program, she produced the documentary to share with the community.
According to EarthEcho’s website, the organization “collaborates with youth around the world to provide knowledge and develop tools that drive meaningful environmental action to protect and restore our ocean planet.”
Chong’s documentary discusses the need to raise community awareness about how ocean conservation is relevant to local cultures.
“I wanted to focus on indigenous knowledge within ocean conservation because I believe a lot of people like to focus on the science and I want to go back to how it relates to our culture instead, because I felt that’s more relatable,” she said.
The documentary is 59 minutes long and features interviews with former Rep. Sheila Babauta, the Marianas Islands Nature Alliance’s Environmental Champion in 2023; K’nilis Tuhuweitae, a Chamorro and Carolinian language teacher and native healer; and Mark Pangelinan, a natural resources management student at NMC.
The documentary explores the importance of the ocean and the need for its conservation.
Chong hopes her documentary can serve a variety of purposes.
“I wanted it to be used for whatever people can see it to be used for, whether that be educational, something you share with people who are not from here…or things like that,” she said. “I wanted it to be a way to preserve our culture because if it exists on the internet, it will exist forever and I want our culture to withstand the test of time.”
Chong said young people feel that an “intense climate crisis” is “impending.”
She also believes ocean conservation awareness can be “impactful.”
“I always wanted to be a part of something that made a difference. This seems very small, but to me it makes a big impact. I want to be part of a change that makes me feel like I have a purpose,” she said.
She hopes viewers leave with “feelings of hope for a brighter future for our ocean.”
