MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
HON.PARVEEN KUMAR BALA

Address at Togovere Village, Ra

Friday, 12th March, 2021, 10:00AM

• Master of Ceremonies;
• Trainers ;
• Our key Government stakeholders;
• My Ministry Staff;
• Youth Participants;
• Members of the Media;
• Ladies and Gentlemen ;

Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to you all,

It is with pleasure that I join you all today to mark another milestone achievement as many of you have completed the Empowerment training on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.

I must thank you all for a very warm welcome and I must acknowledge the trainers for this programme .At the outset, I must acknowledge our key partners for this programme; the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs-Ra Provincial Office, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Fiji National Sports Commission.

I thank you all for your invaluable contribution to the training which will benefit many of our youths here.

Ladies and Gentlemen, climate change is a complex global problem that is interlinked with many issues. To support the on-going development of young people, this empowerment training focused on empowering the youth participants as an effort to improve the capacity of people in addressing environmental and developmental issues related to climate change.

I am pleased to announce that next week my Ministry in collaboration with UNICEF have organized a three-day National Youth Climate Action Summit. This summit will give opportunities to 200 men and women to contribute and formulate action plans that will assist them to deal with the effects of climate change in their own communities and also to discuss the draft climate change bill.

Youths are identified as one of the nine major groups of civil society with the right and responsibility to participate in sustainable development. Youth participation promotes active citizenship and the empowerment of future generations to engage in environmental governance, including climate change governance.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to note that a total of 60 youths from registered youth clubs in Ba, Tavua and Ra have participated in this Empowerment training on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. You all have been educated and empowered now to take action against climate change and become agents of change in your communities.

Thank you once again for your achievement and we hope this will set a precedent for other young people. Please spread the word and encourage your fellow peers to join our programmes as well to have a purpose driven life.
I am also told that after the closing ceremony you will have a mangrove planting exercise and later in the afternoon the event will round off with a sports programme.

Congratulations to all of you and hope that the skills learnt during the training assist you in your future endeavours.

Wish you all the best and I sincerely wish you good health, Vinaka-vakalevu!