THE HONOURABLE ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
MR. ALIPATE NAGATA

Suva 6 March 2019

• The Representative of the US Consulate – Ms Natalie Wilkins
• Mr Dwain Qalovaki,
• Distinguished Guests,
• The Young Leaders of the Pacific,
• Ladies and Gentlemen.

Ni Sa Bula Vinaka and a Very Good Morning to you all.
Welcome to the 06th Young Pacific Leaders Conference.
A very warm welcome to young leaders from around the 20 Pacific countries and territories that you all represent.
May I also extend my appreciation to the United States of America and Cultural Vistas for holding this event and for choosing Fiji and Suva as the host city.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the next four days will help develop your skills and professional networks to address regional challenges. You will get to hear from experts from across the Pacific who will lead you through training and round table discussions. Which in turn will deepen your knowledge of the Young Pacific Leaders Programme pillars.
Ladies and Gentlemen, these four pillars are the cornerstone of your development and addresses the four important areas of your development which are:
• Civic Leadership
• Environment and Resource Management
• Education
• Economic and Social Development.
However, please allow me to share this to you as young leaders of the pacific. From here you will return to your home countries and organise community service projects where you will ‘Lead’, ‘Engage’, ‘Advocate’, ‘Drive Change’ and ‘Serve’.
Young Leaders, to lead is to serve. To lead effectively you must drive change and serve your people. Change is inevitable and we must advocate what we believe in for the good of our communities and countries.
Advocate for environment and climate, resource management, education, health and well-being and economic development which will have an impact on our social progress as a community.
Ladies and gentlemen, In the Pacific today we have our neighbours who constantly live with the fear that one day their country will be taken by the sea. This is the threat of climate change which is affecting our economic and social development and giving rise to ‘climate induced resettlement’.

While we can conclude that we have to live with climate change we must not forget that we can still drive change in our existence to alleviate this dilemma for our future generation. You must therefore educate your respective communities and help sustain your resources. It does not only apply to the environment but to a wider anatomy of our communities.

Ladies and gentlemen, Issues such as insecurity is affecting most young people in our societies across the Pacific. In the Pacific today, young people account for 40% of its entire population and this figure certainly have an effect on services, infrastructure, politics, policies and the economy.
Unemployment figures are high and in some cases young people have refrained from participating and attaining from the economy, this undermines both our fledgling democracies and the source of creating and distributing wealth – our economies.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as ‘Young Pacific Leaders’ I challenge you to advocate for change and volunteer your time, skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to stimulate the quality of life in your community, or find ways to positively influence individuals, organizations and issues and contribute to the common good of your communities.

As young leaders you will need to engage in meaningful partnership with governments, agencies, non-governmental organizations and your communities. Only through meaningful involvement and participation can young people exercise their full citizenship. And only through meaningful dialogue across generations can we all contribute to finding solutions to the challenges we face in the Pacific today.
Young leaders, You have the energy to make change and help your peers be aware of their self-worth. Instil in them a sense of pride which will help them make good decisions about themselves and enhance their self-value.
I am confident that you have your own youth network in your respective countries and I urge you to use this network and rediscover yourselves as future leaders of tomorrow. Reclaim the belief that the source of action and responsibility lies within ourselves.
The true demonstration of your effectiveness as youth leaders will be the practical things you get done and the positive tangible things that you achieve through your endeavours.

Become agents of change, become people who do things, change the paradigm, make your communities better and ultimately you will make our Pacific better.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this Fijian Government have a strong belief that youths can bring about positive social changes in communities. We have strong commitment to the development of our young leaders. Through the Ministry of Youth and Sports we have continuously provided support to our young people who have attended international conferences and trainings which we believe will contribute to sustaining our ongoing development and democracy – a better Fiji for all.

Similarly this conference is an opportunity provided to you - the young leaders of the Pacific to be part of something great, to have a voice and most importantly to make a difference through your positive contributions in your respective countries.

Finally, to all participants and facilitators may you all have wonderful experience at this leadership conference and enjoy your short stay in our country.
Young Leaders, Build networks and lasting friendship with new friends and most of all enjoy your time and take away something that matters to you and your people.

With those words I now officially declare the 06th Young Pacific Leaders Conference open.