Meet the Generation17 Young Leaders: The Story of Brigitta Gunawan

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 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.

Brigitta 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 a snorkeling trip to Nusa Penida, that connection became something else: a sense of responsibility.

According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), warming oceans, pollution and overfishing have put coral reefs on a devastating trajectory, with up to 90% projected to disappear by 2050. Coral reefs, found in more than 100 countries, are among the most important ecosystems in the ocean — supporting marine life, protecting coastlines and sustaining the communities that depend on them. Globally, more than one billion people depend on healthy oceans for their livelihoods.

“We’re going to lose so much in such a short amount of time,” Brigitta says. “I decided that there’s something that I can do.”

Turning a Hashtag Into a Movement

In 2021, at 17, she launched 30×30 Indonesia, named after the global effort to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. The target, backed by the UN’s Global Goals for climate action (Goal 13) and life below water (Goal 14), 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.

“I had absolutely no experience,” Brigitta says, crediting early mentors. “I just enjoyed going out there and slowly building what it is today.”

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 — 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%.

▲ Brigitta and team carefully attach coral fragments to restoration structures, tracking and monitoring growth.

Technology Bringing the Ocean to Everyone

As her coral restoration work grew, a deeper challenge nagged at Brig