Meet our Early Career Ocean Professionals: Joella Marie Balinis (Challenge 9)
Joella Marie Balinis is a bachelors student from Legazpi, the regional center and largest city of the Bicol Region in the Philippines. She currently studying Tourism Management and will be graduating in July 2025. She has first-hand experience of how the ocean impacts humanity, especially in terms of natural disasters, due to her coastline being exposed to the Pacific Ocean. In this ECOP Stories, Joelle explains how she is merging her tourism background with ocean hazard prediction, and exploring her love for the ocean through various professional pathways in the maritime industry and marine tourism.
1. Hi Joella, can you tell us how are you working towards the Ocean Decade Challenge 9: Skills, knowledge, technology and participatory decision-making for all?
In cooperation with the Office of the Youth in Maritime (YIMO), we have launched the Day of the Seafarer- Martivism Art Competition, and the Maritime Data Science and Analytics Lecture Series. This year, YIMO is planning other flagship projects like the Crewing Advancement Training (crewingAT) Programme, and the Blueakonomy Scheme in order to provide a holistic perspective of the blue economy. To be able to fully support the advocacy, I successfully completed the UNITAR Women’s Leadership in Tsunami-based Disaster Risk Reduction for World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024. It gave me fresh insights on how I can integrate my tourism background in the DRR especially in the context of marine tourism and building back better.
2. Why do you think it is important to work towards this Challenge?
Joella also serves as the Public Information Officer of STAGE Club, who achieved a prestigious milestone in 2024, receiving an official accreditation from UNESCO.
Joella completed a UNITAR programme focusing on 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞-𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙏𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮, integrating a tourism perspective.
3. What was the Ocean’s influence on you growing up, and what’s has changed for you since you’ve been working towards this Challenge?
I grew up in Legazpi, a city lined by the Albay Gulf. I remember how my father often brought me to the seas weekly to get a whiff of salt air and bask under the scorching heat of the sun, which, if you’re a kid, you wouldn’t mind so much. It was fun after all! As years go by, however, the ones pristine waters were barricaded by seawalls to mitigate the impact of storm surge and tidal current protecting the nearby coastal communities. The industrialization of the Legazpi Port area also turned the once blue water into gray mud. However, I understand it’s all part of the economic development of the city. Caveat emptor. Now, as a soon-to-be tourism professional and as a student member of The Nautical Institute, I am resolved to impact lives for the better with due regards to environmental sustainability.
The coastal city of Legazpi
Joella at The Avenue Plaza Hotel
4. What is unique about your perspective/motivation (culturally, geographically, personal connection etc)?
I have first-hand experience on how ocean has impacted us in terms of natural disasters as we are facing the Pacific Ocean. I am young so there’s more opportunities for me to learn. And I come from a tourism background.
5. Tell us about some of your recent achievements/highlights/success or alternatively what are you struggling with, or what challenges/barriers are you facing?
Some of my recent achievements include: – Election as the Tourism Society president of the University of Santo Tomas – Legazpi for the academic year 2024-2025 – Completion of the UNITAR Women’s Leadership in Tsunami-based Disaster Risk Reduction for World Tsunami Awareness Day 2024 – Election as Associate Member (Student) by the London-based professional organization, The Nautical Institute – Appointment in the Asia Marine Educators Association (AMEA) – Youth Committee.
6. How can people support you and your work?
My personal LinkedIn account is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joella-marie. Email: joella.marie@youthinmaritime.org To support the activities of the Office of the Youth in Maritime (YIMO): www.youthinmaritime.org Email: collab@youthinmaritime.org