From picking plastic bottles in her teen years, to being the first young African woman in history to be named a Young Superhero for Earth.
Almost 7 years ago, if you had told Oluwaseyi Moejoh fondly called Seyi that she would someday make history as the first young African woman to be named a Young Superhero for Earth, it would have been far fetched as she was only picking plastic bottles at that time. This was the first way she knew to take action to reduce plastic pollution but not the last.
Oluwaseyi’s interest in tackling plastic pollution started when she was a 16-year-old high school student. She was tired of seeing the increased levels of pollution in her country and concerned that the next generation was not being meaningfully involved in creating solutions to this ticking time bomb of plastic pollution
Since then, with a relentless and tireless passion, Seyi has developed and designed novel solutions implementing over 50 youth-led projects over the last six years to tackle the plastic pollution crisis and catalyze climate action in Nigeria and Africa, especially through her nonprofit, U-recycle Initiative Africa.
Speaking at the United Nations to increase more youth involvement in tackle plastic pollution worldwide, deploying ‘talking” recycling bins across leading universities in Nigeria, developing a tech-enabled gamified learning platform about plastic pollution, hosting climate education workshops in low-income schools across Nigeria, Oluwaseyi and her team have become a determined force, on a mission to accelerate unprecedented youth-led solutions to the plastic crisis in Nigeria and Africa.
Her favorite quote “Young people can change the world, give us a chance” resonates through her story. Today, at the age of 22, Oluwaseyi Moejoh’s story stands as a TESTAMENT to the miracles that can happen when young people are given a chance to create a sustainable future and a CLARION CALL to the older generation to support youths to actualize their dreams of a greener and healthier planet for all.
Recounting the challenges faced early on in her journey due to her age, gender and background, Oluwaseyi never let these identities pin her down. She believes that through intergenerational collaboration built on, understanding and listening to the needs of earth, the vulnerable and the next generation
Last month, in Atlanta, United States, Oluwaseyi was recognized with the 2024 Young SuperHero for Earth Award by the oldest and largest youth-focused environmental organization in the world, Captain Planet foundation. She joins the ranks of global environmental visionaries, the Captain Planet Foundation has presented awards to, including: President Jimmy Carter, King Charles III, Dr. Jane Goodall, Xiye Bastida but to mention a few. She was also named one of Leading Ladies Africa 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria for 2024
The Captain Planet Foundation (CPF) is the real life, hands-on offshoot of the Captain Planet and the Planeteers animated television series that Ted and Barbara Pyle co-created 33 years ago. The Foundation believes that our future depends upon fostering youth’s affinity for nature and empathy for all living things, while activating their inherent power to create and implement change-making solutions.
Towards this effort, Captain Planet Foundation operates multiple programs, including: Project Learning Garden, Project Hero, Green Heart STEM Challenge, and the Planeteer Alliance. Through these programs, CPF has directly funded the environmental projects of over 1.7 million K- 12 youth across all 50 U.S. states and 90 countries ; while impacting over 11.4 million kids globally.
