Ma’atautogia Okalani Mariner

Ma’atautogia Okalani Mariner is a Samoan poet, social entrepreneur, and climate advocate dedicated to creating spaces where Pacific stories and solutions can thrive. As the Co-Founder and Operations Manager of Onelook Studio, Samoa’s first coworking and creative hub, she leads operations, programming, and partnerships that foster innovation, community, and cultural expression.

A prominent voice in climate justice, Okalani serves as a Pacific Youth Advisor on Climate Change to the United Nations Secretary-General, working to amplify the voices of frontline Pacific communities in global policy. She is also the Samoa Country Coordinator for the 350 Pacific Climate Warriors, driving grassroots advocacy across the region, and serves as the Samoa Ambassador for Indigenous Women in Industry (IWI), a global movement dedicated to elevating Indigenous women in corporate leadership and trade.

Her commitment to sustainable solutions is recognised internationally; in 2023, she was the only Pacific Islander from a group of 100 youth awarded the Youth4Climate “Sparking Solutions” Grant to scale her social-enterprise project, “One Click, One Hub.” She is also an Australian Awards Fellow with Griffith University, where she learned how to develop projects that focus on scaling finance for Indigenous climate adaptation.

Previously, she served as Samoa’s Human Rights Advisor for Children and Youth and has represented Samoa at major international forums, including COP27 in Egypt and the Youth4Climate Powering Action Summit in New York and Rome, the Youth ECOSOC Forum at UN Headquarters, NYC. She additionally served as a member of the Commonwealth Youth Taskforce during CHOGM 2024 in Samoa, working closely with the government to deliver the CYF Forum and organize logistics and event preparations.