|
|
|
Youth stakeholders meet to improve regional collaboration |
|
 |
Youth sector specialists from around the Pacific are meeting at SPC
headquarters in Noumea this week to discuss how to improve regional
coordination in the area of youth development.
Over
the next three days (18–20 March), representatives of regional,
international and civil society organisations, as well as donors and
inter-governmental agencies, will share information on issues such as
current and planned youth programmes, gaps and duplication in their
work, and support for Pacific regional youth organisations. |
They
will also discuss a coordination and monitoring mechanism to improve youth
development in the region.SPC’s Human Development Adviser for Youth, Rose
Maebiru, says that work in the region’s youth sector has increased significantly
in recent years. However, she says little has been done to coordinate these
efforts.
‘This meeting is an opportunity to learn more about what regional and
international youth stakeholders are doing. It’s the first step in improving
coordination of work in the sector,’ Ms Maebiru says. ‘Following the meeting, we
hope to see organisations working in partnership to implement national youth
priorities.’
Participants at the meeting will be presented with the findings of a survey
carried out by SPC last year to chart youth issues throughout the region. The
Pacific Youth Mapping Exercise (PYME) involved collecting data on ways in which
SPC member governments, civil society organisations, youth groups and regional
organisations were involving young people in their work.
Ms Maebiru says the PYME is a starting point for discussion. Other development
agencies will present their own review findings. Representatives of key youth
organisations, including the Pacific Youth Council and the Commonwealth’s
Regional Youth Caucus, will participate in the discussions. The meeting will
also enable participants to share current and proposed projects and activities.
‘Once we’ve established proper networks and systems to improve how we share
information, we will be able to better assess the impact of youth programmes
carried out in the region and improve the responses that we give,’ says Ms
Maebiru. ‘We hope that organisations can complement each other’s work at country
and regional levels through the sharing of expertise and resources.’
The meeting has been jointly organised by SPC’s Human Development Programme (HDP),
the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, UNESCO and the Commonwealth Youth
Programme. Also attending the meeting are delegates from the governments of
Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tonga as representatives of the Melanesian, Micronesian
and Polynesian regions respectively.
|
]
Ms Rose Maebiru -
SPC Human
Development Adviser (Youth)