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Maria Shishkanova — SDG 14 Youth Ambassador in Russia

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Maria is from Penza. She graduated from the School of Applied Economics and Commerce of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) with specialization in International Economic and Ecological Issues.

Maria was first introduced to the SDGs through participation in the All-Russian Olympiad of Schoolchildren on Ecology; she is a three-time finalist of the contest. Later on Maria was able to put her knowledge into practice during her internship at the UN Information Center in Moscow and at the UN Depository of the Russian State Library, as well as at the Clean Seas International Environmental Fund. Participation in the “Russia Youth Environmental Program (RYEP)”, which was held at Dartmouth College in the United States, allowed her to improve her research and organizational skills. Maria is currently serving her second term as the SDG 14 Youth Ambassador in Russia. During her 1st term as part of the SDG14 working group she contributed to the preparation of the Voluntary National SDG Review (VNR) of the Russian Federation.

Today Maria organizes events dedicated to the SDGs as part of her activities at the Rapatac Youth Center (Sweden). She assists in preparing schoolchildren to participate in various intellectual competitions, including the All-Russian Olympiad of Schoolchildren on Ecology, based on the Provincial Lyceum for gifted children of Penza region and the organization «Association of Olympiad Winners». Beside that she is carrying out SDG-related scientific activities.

– What factors have a significant impact on the progress towards the future you want?

– As SDG 14 Youth Ambassador in Russia, I believe that the main prerequisite for building a sustainable future is finding the solution to existing global environmental problems, such as degradation of biodiversity, both terrestrial and marine. The world’s oceans and their inhabitants determine the functioning of global systems that make the Earth livable for all humanity. The rational use of marine resources is the key to a sustainable future. However, the degradation of the world’s oceans ecosystems due to pollution as well as acidification of their waters resulting from climate change threatens them. It is in our power to minimize these negative factors, as the future is in our hands and we should not give up.

– What would you advise the UN Secretary-General to do to address the global challenges?

– With the Coronavirus pandemic aggravating the existing global challenges, coordinated action by each of us is especially important and should be aimed at solving modern economic, social and environmental problems. A way out of this situation could be to control the development and implementation of the national plans to overcome the coronavirus and restore the economic well-being of countries with particular emphasis on the current state of the environment.