{"id":85588,"date":"2026-04-23T16:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/?p=85588"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:21:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:21:51","slug":"meet-the-generation17-young-leaders-the-story-of-brigitta-gunawan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/meet-generation17-young-leaders-story-brigitta-gunawan\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Generation17 Young Leaders: The Story of Brigitta Gunawan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brigitta Gunawan is a member of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.undp.org\/generation17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Generation17<\/a>, a Samsung and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.undp.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)<\/a> partnership empowering young people who are contributing to the <a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Global Goals.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Since 2020, Generation17 has supported Young Leaders worldwide with Samsung Galaxy technology, mentorship, and networking opportunities to amplify their stories and solutions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embedded product-module\">\n\t\t<a id=\"product-module-0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samsung.com\/us\/explore\/sustainability\/\" title=\"Sustainability\" class=\"snr-article_product-image\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/05163443\/Newsroom_Sustainability-Module_2025-Final-1.png\" alt=\"Sustainability\">\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet the Generation17 Young Leaders: The Story of Brigitta Maria Andrea Gunawan | Samsung\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z7dLi0ERWwA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>She 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 Nusa Penida, that connection became a sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), warming oceans, pollution, and overfishing have put coral reefs on a devastating trajectory, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unep.org\/topics\/ocean-seas-and-coasts\/blue-ecosystems\/coral-reefs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">with up to 90%<\/a> projected to disappear by 2050. Coral reefs, found in more than 100 countries, are among the most important ecosystems in the ocean \u2014 supporting marine life, protecting coastlines, and sustaining the communities that depend on them. Globally, more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unep.org\/news-and-stories\/story\/worlds-corals-are-bleaching-heres-why-and-what-it-means-oceans-future?utm_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one billion people<\/a> depend on healthy oceans for their livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"embedded recommended recommended-post\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embedded-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-badge\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>Recommended News<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"recommended-card\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/earth-month-samsung-simple-steps-toward-sustainability\/\" class=\"recommended-news\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/06114534\/EarthMonth26_Newsroom_1186x951px-with-Text-268x178.jpg\" alt=\"Earth Month: Samsung&#8217;s Simple Steps Toward Sustainability\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"details\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"details-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"post-category\">Sustainability<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4>Earth Month: Samsung&#8217;s Simple Steps Toward Sustainability<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"article-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re going to lose so much in such a short amount of time,\u201d Brigitta says. \u201cI decided that there&#8217;s something that I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Turning a Hashtag <\/strong><strong>I<\/strong><strong>nto a Movement<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>In 2021, at 17, she launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/30x30indonesia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">30&#215;30 Indonesia<\/a>, named after the global effort to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. The target, backed by the UN&#8217;s Global Goals for climate action (<a href=\"https:\/\/globalgoals.org\/goals\/13-climate-action\/\">Goal 13<\/a>) and life below water (<a href=\"https:\/\/globalgoals.org\/goals\/14-life-below-water\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Goal 14<\/a>), 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<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had absolutely no experience,\u201d Brigitta says, crediting early mentors. \u201cI just enjoyed going out there and slowly building what it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2014 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%.<\/p>\n<h6><em><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.global.news.samsung.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/21171158\/Samsung-Mobile-Generation17-Global-Goals-Brigitta-Gunawan_main1.jpg\" alt=\"Brigitta and team carefully attach coral fragments to restoration structures, tracking and monitoring growth.\" \/>Brigitta and team carefully attach coral fragments to <\/em><em>restoration structures, tracking <\/em><em>and monitoring growth.<\/em><\/h6>\n<h5><strong>Technology Bringing the Ocean to Everyone<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>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. \u201cIt&#8217;s important for people to see the ocean so that they know why we have to save it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, she launched <a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/www.diverseas.org\/__;!!N96JrnIq8IfO5w!hRhiIK7iRnlDOvDwli5tH0FSSlepvVmjJAwolwW8psV0L1e1dTFRWEmEZsGRoBjx9UZI2GeV-JuqJRQoVALD843ddeU$\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diverseas<\/a>, a free education program that uses 360-degree underwater filming to bring reefs into classrooms, supporting the UN\u2019s Global Goal for quality education (Goal 4). Brigitta partners with grassroot conservation organizations worldwide to capture footage. Students slip on headsets and suddenly find themselves beneath the surface, surrounded by coral and other marine life.<\/p>\n<h6><em><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.global.news.samsung.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/21171529\/Samsung-Mobile-Generation17-Global-Goals-Brigitta-Gunawan_main2.jpg\" alt=\"Diverseas' online courses extend ocean education beyond the classroom, reaching students in more than 10 countries.\" \/>Diverseas&#8217; online courses extend ocean education beyond the classroom, reaching students in more than 10 countries.<\/em><\/h6>\n<p>Many students who live inland have never seen these underwater scenes; by fostering ocean literacy, Brigitta is calling for collective action to protect biodiversity.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>For Brigitta, the goal is to reach more communities around the world and continue restoring reefs across Indonesia.<\/p>\n<h6><em><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.global.news.samsung.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/21171548\/Samsung-Mobile-Generation17-Global-Goals-Brigitta-Gunawan_main3.jpg\" alt=\"Brigitta teaches students about underwater ecosystems using a Samsung Galaxy phone.\" \/>Brigitta teaches students about underwater ecosystems using a Samsung Galaxy phone<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/h6>\n<h5><strong>The Next Wave of Ocean Advocates<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>In coral reef restoration, where the numbers on reef loss can feel overwhelming, Brigitta believes staying optimistic is essential. \u201cFor young people, giving up is not an option,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have to remain hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And the best place to build that hope? The classroom, both physical and virtual. \u201cI believe education is so powerful,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you do it right, you inspire young people who become the policymakers of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29719,17570],"tags":[16246,50,29586,29590],"blue-badge":[],"class_list":["post-85588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corporate","category-corporate-sustainability","tag-community","tag-sustainability","tag-united-nations","tag-united-nations-development-programme-undp"],"acf":{"turn_off_retargeting":false},"fimg_mobile_url":"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/23212124\/Samsung-Mobile-Generation17-Global-Goals-Brigitta-Gunawan_main1-600x562.jpg","fimg_url":"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/23212124\/Samsung-Mobile-Generation17-Global-Goals-Brigitta-Gunawan_main1-424x283.jpg","primary_category":{"term_id":17570,"name":"Sustainability","slug":"corporate-sustainability","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17570,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":29719,"count":208,"filter":"raw","term_link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/category\/corporate\/corporate-sustainability\/","term_path":"corporate\/corporate-sustainability"},"badge":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85588"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85615,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85588\/revisions\/85615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85588"},{"taxonomy":"blue-badge","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blue-badge?post=85588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}