Meet Giovanni Prete, Bow Seat’s Communications Director
November 7, 2025I was about three when my family decided to move from Montreal to Corfu island, Greece. My grandparents said they wanted to live somewhere closer to nature – but to me, it felt like returning to something we had always belonged to. Growing up, the sea became my playground, my teacher, and my friend. I spent afternoons swimming (even in the heart of winter), fishing with my grandfather, and listening to his stories about a tuna fish that would meet him every morning by the shore, almost convincing me the title character from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was real…and he was Greek. He swore they kept a steady appointment – man and fish, bound by an unspoken understanding.
Hello Bow Seat community! My name is Giovanni, I was born in Canada, where I currently live, and I grew up between Greece and Italy, where the sea is more than just scenery – it is a symbol of voyage, memory, and rebirth. Through my early exposure to ancient poetry and art, especially to Homer’s Odyssey – which became an influential narrative in my childhood – I learned early on that every journey begins with curiosity. That sense of wonder guided me through my studies at McGill University in Montreal and the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, where I majored in English Literature. I then moved to London, England, where I earned my Master’s in History from University College London, before returning to Montreal and earning a Graduate Diploma in Communications and Journalism from McGill University.
Following my studies, I worked briefly as an artist, before returning home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That period became the most difficult – but also the most inspiring – period of my life, so far. That island – once alive and with color – had become eerily quiet. But what hurt me the most wasn’t the stillness, or the fact that my professional aspirations had faced a dead end, but the sign of pandemic waste scattered along the beaches I grew up loving. The sea that had once felt eternal suddenly looked fragile. That realization changed me. With a small group of friends, I formed a team, and began organizing, for the next couple of years, beach and underwater cleanups around the island. These efforts grew into a community movement – one rotted in care, action, and the belief that healing the planet begins with healing our relationship to it. My advocacy suddenly brought me to global stages, including major United Nations conferences, advocating to policymakers for the safeguarding of the Mediterranean Sea.
Both inspired and empowered from this experience, I left the island again and returned to Canada, where I started working as a journalist and communicator for several international organisations and charities in both Canada and Greece, as well as reporting for various media outlets, on humanitarian and environmental matters, such as the wildfires in Greece and the Russo-Ukrainian War. I eventually joined the United Nations in early 2023 as a consultant for organisations such as the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris, France, working as a storyteller for initiatives that connected biodiversity, climate, and human stories. My experience taught me that communication is not only about information – it’s about empathy. It’s about showing that what happens to the planet, happens to us too.
At Bow Seat, I’ve found a place where creativity meets purpose, and where young people are using their art to speak for the environment with clarity and heart. My goal is to help amplify those voices – to craft bridges between their imagination and the global conversations shaping our shared future.
The ocean has always been my greatest source of inspiration. It fuels my curiosity about the world – the endless movement, the mystery beneath the surface, the way it connects people and places. I always feel both grounded and alive when I stare at the deep blue, reminded of how vast and fragile life truly is. That’s why I’ll always protect it. I love surfing and travelling to coastal places that carry the same energy. If you can’t find me in Montreal or Corfu, I will probably be in Malibu as it’s been my second ‘’Corfu’’ – a place where the ocean feels like home and my heart fills with peace.