DIRECTOR FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS MR.PHILP HERENIKO

Friday, 13th November, 2020, 2:00PM

• Respected Talatala
• Respected Village Elders
• Trainers and Trainees
• Invited guests
• Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon and Bula Vinaka to you all,

It gives me much pleasure to be here with all 39 youth participants to officially close the five-day Empowerment training on Financial Literacy.

At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the villagers for the warm welcome rendered to me today. Vinaka-vakalevu!

Youth issues are cross-cutting and we need to work hand in hand. At this juncture, I would also like to acknowledge the assistance rendered to the Ministry from our partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport. Their assistance has been much appreciated in conducting the training on “Competency Based Economies through Formation of Entrepreneurs - New Business Creation Course” over the last 5 days.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry of Youth and Sports continues to make inroads in empowering young adults through our non-formal education, empowerment and outreach programs. These are programs run in more formal settings or we take the training to the village in our approach to ensure effective service delivery. Over the last financial year, the Ministry has completed a total of 35 Empowerment trainings- some of which are on financial literacy. This year the ministry has completed a total of 9 trainings with an expected 27 more trainings to complete throughout this financial year.

We are building our future leaders through such trainings. We want to inspire youths to address the daily challenges they face and become role models to others within their community. We want them to become the leaders of tomorrow today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this financial literacy training enables participants to learn key areas in financing such as basic budgeting , cash flows, entrepreneurship, credit & savings and record keeping.

Financial literacy is one of the major challenges facing young Fijians in becoming self-sufficient. As youths, a key component to growth is having the ability to understand and apply financial skills.

I hope that you have taken full advantage of this training and have grasped the learning objectives and outcomes. I sincerely hope that this will prove beneficial for you all and you are able recognise your true potential as young leaders.

Youth Entrepreneurship creates employment opportunities for youth as well as the other young people they employ. This helps to bring unemployed youth into the economic mainstream and address some of the socio-psychological problems and delinquency that is currently on the rise due to the current global socio-economic situation.

Youth Entrepreneurship also helps youths to develop new skills and experiences and promote innovation and resilience in youth. As young entrepreneurs are particularly responsive to new economic opportunities and trends, they would be able to better adapt to the changing market. This is especially true now with the new normal times we are living in with the COVID-19 pandemic still in place. This is why the Ministry of Youth and Sports has carried out a 5-day training here for the youths of Tikina Burewai.

This training was intended to assist the youths here in planning, budgeting and management of your respective farm production and sales- to help you move from subsistence to commercial farming.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is mandated to propel the youth sector in Fiji and as such we intend to create a culture of diverse networking among youth groups and stakeholders.

We believe that youths are equally able to contribute to decision making processes and are recognised in the development of our country, your communities and families.

I am also proud that this training promotes social cohesion, tolerance, inclusivity, equity and a basic appreciation of human rights especially towards women and children.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it also ensures that we are promoting equal citizenry and are aligned to the mandate of our Constitution. By providing continuous support, we will harness long-term sustainable prosperity based on mutual respect throughout Fiji.

Dear Trainees, as we conclude the training today, I hope that you have been able to sharpen your individual skill sets. You will now look beyond the horizon at the goals you will set for yourselves; goals that you can and will achieve.

With your newly-acquired skills from this training, I hope that you will demonstrate attributes of quality entrepreneurship in your youth clubs and communities.

Young people carry forward our culture, traditions, values, ideologies and aspirations as well as adapting these to the here and now as our nation develops.

Finally I thank you all for your participation and trust that you will all return homes empowered. I now have the pleasure to declare this training closed.
Thank you Vinaka-vakalevu!
-ENDS-