Visual Storytelling Contest

One Ocean. Many Lives.
One Story Only You Can Tell.

Calling all ocean lovers, defenders, and dreamers across South Asia!

Celebrate World Oceans Day by sharing your story of the sea.

The ocean holds millions of lives and stories. It has always been a part of who we are.

Maybe you grew up waking to the sound of waves outside your window in Chennai or Cox’s Bazar. Maybe your grandparents told you stories of the sea from a small fishing village in Sri Lanka. Or maybe you live far from the coast, but still feel a deep pull when you see the ocean – a sense of calm, mystery, and belonging.

Across Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh, the ocean is more than a body of water. It’s our food, our culture, our memories. But this ocean we love is hurting as climate destruction mercilessly takes a toll. Plastic chokes the water and our shores. Coral reefs are bleaching. Fishers return with lighter nets and rising seas threaten homes and communities along the coasts.

And now, a container ship sinking off the coast of Kerala reminds us of something urgent: the waves of impact disasters can have on this delicate ecosystem. Communities are bracing for contamination, but the full truth of what was in those containers remains hidden.

When transparency is missing, our voices must rise louder. Because the ocean doesn’t just need protection. It needs defenders. And it starts with hope.

Across South Asia, people are quietly restoring balance – planting mangroves, educating children, joining cleanups, refusing single-use plastic, or simply speaking up.This World Oceans Day, we want to flood social media with these stories of hope, yourstories.