Green Heritage Fund Suriname (GHFS) recently featured on SWITCH, appearing alongside well-known Surinamese filmmaker Dwight Cooman, founder of the Copix Foundation, to introduce an exciting new initiative under the PROMAR Project: a video competition inviting Suriname's young filmmakers to create original awareness content on plastic pollution.

 

Represented by Project Coordinator Cheyenne Samson, GHFS used the segment to highlight the organization's ongoing work since 2024 to combat marine pollution in Suriname, with a particular focus on plastic waste entering the sea. Samson noted a striking statistic during the discussion: approximately 80 percent of marine litter originates from land-based sources, underscoring just how much everyday choices on land contribute to the growing problem of ocean plastic pollution.

 

Awareness, Samson explained, remains one of GHFS's core strategies under PROMAR, since meaningful environmental action starts with public understanding. Originally, the plan was for the GHFS team to produce an awareness video internally. However, the organization's director, Monique Pool, saw an opportunity to do something different: rather than create the content themselves, why not hand the mic, and the camera, to Suriname's own next generation of storytellers?

 

Recognizing the creativity already flourishing among young Surinamese filmmakers on platforms like TikTok, GHFS partnered with Dwight Cooman and the Copix Foundation to launch a video competition inviting young people to produce their own short awareness films on plastic and environmental pollution. The initiative taps directly into youth talent already thriving in Suriname's digital content space, redirecting that creative energy toward a meaningful environmental cause.

 

Submission guidelines and pitch instructions for the competition are available for interested participants, with the youngest confirmed entrant so far being just 13 years old, demonstrating that environmental storytelling is open to voices of all ages.

 

Through the initiative, GHFS is calling on young Surinamers to become active contributors to the fight against plastic pollution, not simply as viewers of awareness content, but as its creators. As Samson emphasized during the segment, every young person who participates becomes part of the solution, using their creativity and voice to help build a cleaner, more environmentally conscious Suriname.

 

By combining environmental education with youth-led creative expression, this PROMAR-backed video competition reflects Green Heritage Fund Suriname's broader commitment to innovative, community-driven approaches to marine litter prevention, empowering the next generation to lead the conversation on plastic pollution in their own words and their own style.

 

Watch the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TLCiBubDn8