The Pacific Innovation Forum for Climate and Environment (PIFCE) 1st - 3rd July, 2026

Save the Children Vanuatu office

Brief overview

NextGen is a youth‑led platform that equips young people to engage meaningfully in climate action, advocacy, and regional dialogue across Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Its grassroots implementation is supported through SHIFT, a youth‑driven initiative focused on community‑based climate campaigns, both implemented with support from Save the Children. NextGen strengthens youth leadership, advocacy, and policy literacy, while drawing on evidence and lived experience generated through SHIFT activities. By linking grassroots climate action with national and regional platforms, NextGen ensures Pacific youth perspectives inform inclusive, locally grounded climate and environmental responses.

Your organisation’s goals

NextGen’s core services focus on strengthening youth leadership and participation in climate and environmental action across Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The initiative provides structured training in climate advocacy, policy engagement, and leadership, equipping young people to confidently engage with national, regional, and global climate platforms. NextGen supports youth to translate lived experiences and community realities into clear, evidence‑based messages that inform climate discussions and decision‑making.

At the grassroots level, these services are complemented by SHIFT, a youth‑driven initiative supported by Save the Children, which focuses on designing and implementing community‑based climate campaigns. Through SHIFT, young people engage directly with environmental challenges such as climate impacts, disaster risks, and community resilience, generating practical insights, data, and local evidence.

NextGen then bridges this grassroots action with advocacy pathways by enabling youth to apply evidence generated through SHIFT to influence dialogue, raise awareness, and shape policy narratives. Together, these services ensure climate action is youth‑led, locally grounded, and informed by Pacific realities. By connecting community‑level action, leadership development, and advocacy, NextGen strengthens inclusive and youth‑responsive approaches to climate and environmental challenges in the Pacific.

Describe your innovation

NextGen’s Youth Evidence‑to‑Advocacy Innovation Pathway is a youth‑driven approach that connects grassroots climate action with informed advocacy to strengthen Pacific youth engagement in climate and environmental decision‑making. The innovation links two distinct but complementary initiatives: NextGen, which focuses on youth advocacy and access to platforms, and SHIFT, a grassroots initiative supported by Save the Children that enables young people to design and implement community‑based climate campaigns.

Through SHIFT, young people identify climate and environmental challenges affecting their communities, such as climate‑related disasters, ecosystem degradation, and resilience gaps, and develop campaigns that generate tangible outputs, including community data, documented impacts, and locally grounded solutions. These outputs are intentionally structured to go beyond implementation and serve as evidence.

NextGen then equips youth with advocacy, policy literacy, and leadership skills and provides pathways to regional and international platforms. When participating in advocacy spaces, NextGen youth draw directly on evidence and lived experiences generated through SHIFT‑led campaigns. This ensures that climate advocacy is credible, context‑specific, and reflective of Pacific realities, rather than abstract or externally driven.

This innovation addresses climate change by strengthening adaptation and resilience at the community level while improving the quality and relevance of youth participation in climate discussions. It is especially relevant for Pacific Island Countries and Territories, where climate impacts are immediate, resources are limited, and youth voices are often underrepresented in policy spaces. By linking community‑level action with advocacy platforms, the Youth Evidence‑to‑Advocacy Pathway amplifies Pacific youth as informed contributors to climate solutions and supports locally driven, inclusive climate responses.

How is this solution is innovative?

NextGen’s solution is innovative because it intentionally links grassroots climate action with structured youth advocacy pathways, rather than treating community action and policy engagement as separate processes. Many youth initiatives focus either on awareness‑raising or high‑level advocacy; this model innovates by creating a continuous flow from community‑generated evidence to regional platforms. SHIFT enables young people to design and implement climate campaigns grounded in lived experience, generating tangible data, insights, and local knowledge. The innovation lies in how this evidence is then strategically utilised by NextGen, where youth are equipped with advocacy, leadership, and policy engagement skills and supported to present community‑based realities in formal decision‑making spaces. This approach strengthens the credibility and relevance of youth advocacy by ensuring it is informed by real climate impacts faced by communities, rather than abstract narratives. It also maximises limited resources by integrating two distinct initiatives into a single impact pathway. For Pacific Island Countries and Territories, where climate impacts are immediate and youth voices are often underrepresented, this model offers a scalable, locally grounded way to elevate informed youth leadership. By bridging action and advocacy, the solution contributes to more inclusive, context‑appropriate climate responses shaped by Pacific youth.

How can the innovation be replicated and scaled up in other PICTs?

NextGen’s innovation can be effectively replicated and scaled across Pacific Island Countries and Territories through a flexible, partnership‑driven model that adapts to local contexts. The approach relies on establishing institutional partnerships with youth networks, civil society organisations, faith‑based groups, and regional bodies already engaged in climate and youth work. These partners provide local anchoring while NextGen supports methodology, advocacy frameworks, and learning exchange.

Replication requires modest capacity inputs, including training youth facilitators in advocacy, leadership, and campaign documentation, and supporting community‑based climate initiatives through a grassroots mechanism such as SHIFT. Existing youth structures can be strengthened rather than creating new systems, making the model accessible and scalable.

The innovation can be financed through a blended funding approach, combining donor support, small grants for youth‑led campaigns, and collaboration with development and climate programmes seeking community‑rooted evidence and youth participation. Regional platforms can further support scale‑up by enabling peer learning and cross‑country exchange among youth leaders.

Because the model is evidence‑driven, youth‑led, and low‑cost, it is well suited to PICT contexts where resources are limited but community cohesion and youth leadership are strong. By embedding advocacy pathways within existing local initiatives, the innovation supports sustainable, locally owned expansion across the Pacific.

How is the solution cost‑effective and affordable in the context of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs)?

Yes, the solution is cost‑effective and affordable in the context of Pacific Island Countries and Territories, particularly from the perspective of communities, youth groups, and local stakeholders. The innovation is designed to work through existing community and youth structures, minimising the need for new infrastructure, technology, or high operational costs. Youth‑led climate campaigns implemented through SHIFT rely largely on local knowledge, volunteer participation, and low‑cost materials, making them accessible to communities with limited financial resources.

For end users such as communities and local groups, participation does not require significant financial investment. Instead, the model builds skills, coordination, and ownership, enabling communities to address climate challenges using resources already available to them. NextGen’s advocacy component further maximises value by translating community‑generated evidence into policy‑relevant inputs without placing additional financial burdens on communities or local governments.

The integrated approach also reduces duplication by linking grassroots action directly to advocacy platforms, ensuring that investments in community action generate broader impact. This makes the solution affordable, efficient, and well suited to PICT contexts, where funding is constrained but youth leadership, community networks, and local knowledge are strong assets.

Locations (country, island, or community) where this solution has been piloted and/or implemented

The solution has been piloted and implemented in Vanuatu, primarily in Port Vila (Efate Island). SHIFT is a global youth engagement model developed by Save the Children, and in the Pacific it has so far been implemented only in Vanuatu, with Save the Children Solomon Islands now beginning the process of taking on the initiative. In Port Vila, SHIFT‑supported youth‑led climate campaigns have been implemented with the Erakor Bridge Youth Association, Dausake SHIFT Youth Group, Seaside Climate Ambassador Youths, Ntalpuk Ning Epang Faum (Pango Youth), and Mele Yone Youth. These groups have engaged directly with community‑level climate and environmental challenges, generating lived experience, evidence, and insights. In Santo (Espiritu Santo Island), implementation with youth groups in Pepsi and Sarakata communities is scheduled to commence in July, with groundwork and preparation currently underway. NextGen is a Vanuatu‑developed youth advocacy model implemented within Save the Children. While rooted in Vanuatu, NextGen has already contributed to regional and international impact by supporting youth from these communities to engage in national, regional, and global climate platforms using evidence generated through grassroots action. This positions the model for continued expansion across the Pacific.

Learn more:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=794759403671262

https://www.shiftnow.org/change/seaside-climate-ambassadors

https://www.shiftnow.org/change/erakor-bridge-youth

https://www.shiftnow.org/change/dausake-youth

https://www.shiftnow.org/change/nnefa

https://www.dailypost.vu/news/save-the-children-equips-young-leaders-through-shift/article_2b2ec28a-9e6c-5deb-92e1-9570001b465f.html

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1165108985375715

https://www.dailypost.vu/news/nextgen-youth-ambassador-programme-empowers-ni-vanuatu-youth-to-tackle-climate-crisis-on-global-stage/article_7f378ecf-0cfc-59b8-9e6e-bc111224b635.html

https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheChildrenVanuatu/posts/a-proud-moment-for-vanuatus-next-generation-today-our-nextgen-ambassadors-stood-/1053035783605286/

Abyss Vanuatu Ocean Institute

About

Abyss Vanuatu Ocean Institute (AVOI) is a science-led, community-driven initiative advancing marine restoration, climate resilience and sustainable blue economy development in Vanuatu. Through its Havannah Harbour pilot, AVOI integrates Reef Ball deployment, artificial reef design, drone-enabled monitoring and workforce training via the Vanuatu Ocean Rangers. The model combines innovation and local stewardship to restore ecosystems, strengthen biodiversity and support climate adaptation. By linking technology, community engagement and practical delivery, AVOI is developing a scalable national framework that helps translate ocean policy into measurable outcomes, creating jobs, building local capability and supporting long-term environmental resilience across island communities.

Abyss Vanuatu Ocean Institute (AVOI) delivers integrated, science-led services focused on marine restoration, climate resilience and sustainable environmental management. Its core services include the design and deployment of Reef Ball artificial reef systems and managed vessel reefs to restore degraded marine habitats, enhance biodiversity and support fisheries recovery. AVOI also provides drone-enabled monitoring and survey services, using autonomous and manned systems to track climate impacts, support conservation planning and improve data-driven decision-making across marine and coastal environments.

A central component is the development of the Vanuatu Ocean Rangers program, which builds local workforce capability in restoration, monitoring, conservation and environmental stewardship. AVOI also supports Marine Protected Area (MPA) design, ecological baseline assessments and long-term monitoring frameworks aligned with national ocean policy objectives.

Through community engagement, eco-tourism integration and applied innovation, AVOI connects environmental protection with economic opportunity. Its Havannah Harbour pilot serves as a scalable model to deliver practical climate adaptation, strengthen ecosystem resilience and enable coordinated, whole-of-government environmental outcomes across Vanuatu.

The Innovation

One of AVOI’s key innovations is the integration of the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger program with locally delivered marine restoration systems, including Reef Ball fabrication and deployment. This model combines workforce development, community engagement and practical restoration into a single, scalable framework designed for island environments.

Through structured Vanuatu Ocean Ranger Camps, over a 3 day period AVOI identifies and trains local Ni-Vanuatu participants in marine conservation, Scientific diving, restoration techniques, monitoring and stewardship. One aspect of the Rangers responsibilities is to support the fabrication and deployment of Reef Ball artificial reef systems using locally sourced materials and regional supply chains, significantly reducing costs and increasing local ownership. The approach enables degraded reef systems to be restored while simultaneously building in-country capability and employment pathways, guided by our National AVOI Play Book at its core.

This innovation directly addresses climate change by strengthening reef resilience, supporting fisheries recovery and enhancing coastal protection against storm surge and extreme weather events. It also improves ecosystem health, which is critical for food security and long-term adaptation in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).

What makes this model particularly relevant for PICTs is its practicality and scalability. It does not rely on high-cost external inputs but instead builds local capacity, integrates customary stewardship and aligns with government policy frameworks. The system can be replicated across islands using a consistent training, deployment and governance approach.

Supported by drone-enabled monitoring and AI self learning data collection, AVOI’s model provides a cost-effective, community-led solution that connects restoration, climate resilience and sustainable economic opportunity in a way that is both locally grounded and nationally scalable.

How is this solution innovative?

AVOI’s solution is innovative because it integrates community workforce development, marine restoration and applied technology into a single, scalable delivery model tailored for island environments. Rather than treating conservation, employment and climate adaptation as separate challenges, AVOI combines them through the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger program and locally delivered Reef Ball restoration systems. This creates a practical pathway where communities are directly trained and employed to restore and monitor their own marine ecosystems. The model also incorporates drone-enabled monitoring and emerging AI-supported survey systems to improve data collection, ecological tracking and rapid response capability, including in remote and disaster-affected areas. This blend of low-cost, locally sourced restoration methods with advanced monitoring technology allows for both accessibility and scientific rigour. What makes the approach particularly innovative is its focus on scalability and replication. By developing a standardised training, deployment and governance framework, AVOI provides a repeatable model based on a National AVOI Play book that can be adapted across Pacific Island Countries, helping translate policy into measurable, community-led climate and environmental outcomes.

How can the innovation be replicated and scaled up in other PICTs

AVOI’s model is designed for replication across Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) through a structured, partnership-driven and capacity-focused approach. Following an initial two-year proof-of-concept in Vanuatu, AVOI will develop a refined National PICT Playbook outlining standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safe work method statements (SWMS), delivered in both English and Bislama, with visual and pictorial elements to ensure accessibility across diverse communities.

Scaling will be enabled through institutional partnerships with government agencies, regional bodies, scientific partners such as UTS, and local stakeholders, supported by blended financing models including public-private partnerships, eco-tourism revenue streams and conservation funding.

A key component is the development of a simplified, citizen science-based survey framework focused on key indicator species. This approach lowers technical barriers, enabling participation from communities with varying levels of formal education while strengthening data collection and stewardship.

By combining local workforce training, accessible science, and standardised systems, AVOI creates a practical, low-cost model that can be adapted regionally, empowering communities while supporting climate resilience, biodiversity restoration and sustainable economic development across PICTs.

Is your solution cost‑effective and affordable in the context of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs)?

AVOI’s solution is designed to be highly cost-effective and affordable for communities, local governments and small operators across PICTs. A core principle of the model is the use of locally available materials, including aggregates from regional quarries and, where appropriate, surplus or repurposed government materials. This significantly reduces construction and deployment costs for Reef Ball systems and associated infrastructure.

From an end-user perspective, the model lowers financial barriers by building local capability through the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger Camp Initiative and subsequent program, reducing reliance on external expertise and enabling communities to deliver and maintain restoration activities themselves. The integration of eco-tourism also creates revenue-generating opportunities that can help offset ongoing costs.

Affordability is further strengthened through the development of a streamlined cross-departmental approval pathway within the AVOI Playbook. By providing clear guidance on site selection, environmental considerations and standardised processes, local governments can reduce delays, duplication and administrative costs, enabling more efficient project delivery at scale.

Together, these elements create a low-cost, accessible and sustainable model that is practical for widespread adoption across PICTs.

Where is this being piloted?

AVOI’s solution is being piloted in Vanuatu, with Havannah Harbour (North-West Efate) identified as the primary proof-of-concept site, supported by a permanent operational and training hub at Lot 149, Lapita Estate. While over 1,000,000 Reef Balls have been deployed globally across more than 80 countries, this will be the first integrated deployment of this system in Vanuatu. The pilot combines initial baseline surveys across 12 regions using Reef Life Survey (RLS Methodology) prior to any deployments. Once 6 of the sites are selected for deployment we will deploy 50m x 10m of Reef Ball habitat restoration—designed as a 500+ year solution—, allowing us to. Continue to conduct 6 monthly replicated surveys in exactly the same 50m transects to demonstrate recruitment changes providing proof of concept. Together with the Vanuatu Ocean Ranger program, which trains and employs local Ni-Vanuatu to deliver restoration, monitoring and stewardship, supported by drone-enabled surveying, community engagement and eco-tourism integration. The approach is intentionally holistic, linking marine restoration, climate resilience, workforce development, local supply chains and government coordination into a single, place-based model. The Havannah Harbour pilot will be used to refine systems, demonstrate measurable outcomes and establish a scalable framework for national and regional replication across PICTs, through the development of our AVOI National Playbook, helping guide replication across all our satellite sites. Initial training will be conducted through AVOI Headquarters in Havannah Harbour, with Ranger selection conducted through a multi-day conservation camp where participant will all leave with new knowledge and appreciation for the terrestrial and marine environment, and Ocean Rangers selected for employment within the AVOI team at the conclusion of the camps.