ACCORDING to the Commonwealth Youth Program, it defines youth as anyone between the ages of 15 and 29 years.
Different governments and inter-governmental organizations have varying definitions thus, for Papua New Guinea the National Youth Policy 2020-2030, recently revised by the National Executive Council (NEC) recognized youth age bracket as between 12 – 30 years of age, replacing the previous age bracket of 15 to 38 years.
This age bracket are young and energetic group of kids, students, young men and women in the society who would represent their community to be the game changers and shapers of tomorrow.
Now, why youth? We want to empower youth because in this era young people have the proven capability to lead change, they are the cornerstone for investment and development in any given society today and in the future.
The current challenging issues like unemployment, school drop outs, violence and other petty crime activities involved many youths therefore there should be workable Sustainable Development Goals through effective delivery of youth services, innovative transformation and accountable institutions organized by government administrations, government heads, churches, private entities, business houses and the general public so that youth challenging issues are addressed.
National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) plans to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through effective delivery of youth services, innovative transformation and accountable institutions.
The SDG goals of particular relevance to youth services include; ending poverty through youth employment, youth volunteers program, building effective accountable institutions through strengthening provincial, district and Local Level youth development councils.
Gender equality will be advanced through empowerment of both, male and female youths through formal and informal education and skills development training, youth health, and livelihood programs.
The National Youth Development Authority urged districts and provincial administrations to work closely with the authority for the establishment of youth council networking.
Because it is one of the key activity stipulated in the NYDA Act 2014 which is establishing of Youth Development Councils at the Local Level Governments, Districts and Provincial levels.
This is to give legal power to youth groups who can represent their society in any partaking of resource distribution and activities hosted through their district and province.
To do that the National Youth Policy 2020-2030 has also stipulated proper guidelines to carry forth the youth council’s establishments.
It also calls for the electorate MPs, provincial administration and the district CEO to combine support so that the four focused key result areas of NYDA, which are in the governance and institutional development, Community and environment and education and employment andhealth, sports and culture is achieved.
NYDA is continuing to have cordial dialogues with partner agencies with written memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both partners wishing to work together to strengthen youth network to fulfills the National Youth Policy 2020-2030.
NYDA successfully signed agreements with;
- City Mission
- Hope World Wide PNG
- Small Medium Enterprise Corporation (SMEC)
- Bank South Pacific
- Transparency International PNG
- PNG Scout Association
- And eleven district authorities
Last month, officers from NYDA were in Jiwaka and signed a MoU with Jimi District CEO and Jiwika provincial administrator in which the MoU captures a small reception but the significance of its outcome will speak for higher volume of youth activities in the area.
The MoU calls for a cooperative relationship between both partners wishing to work together to mobilize and strengthen youth network in the province so that it fulfils the National Youth Policy 2020 to 2030.
The Jimi district being a remote district encounters challenging youth issues that pose a threat to effective delivery of services and maintaining peace and good order therefore, through this agreement they intend to share resources and engage youths in meaningful livelihood activities like in areas of capacity building, life skills and rehabilitation training.
This MoU was amongst other recent ones including the PNG Scout Association, National Cultural Commission (NCC), City Mission, Small Medium Enterprise Corporation (SMEC), Bank South Pacific, Transparency International PNG, and others which NYDA partnered with had so far shown fruitful commitment.
Through the leadership of the new Director General, Joe Itaki has now brought the youth office to light as many youths throughout the nation come to acknowledge and witness the youth policy being delivered at their doorsteps through the youth networking council establishments.
As you might know Jiwika is a newly establish province with approximately 45 minutes’ drive from Kagamuga airstrip, leaving Mt Hagen is Kujip home to the green tea plantation that stretches from the junction into Bunz town, a K1 mile drive.
Jiwika is slowly taking shape as construction to roads and administration buildings will soon boost existing services like aid posts, Post Office, Bank, travel agent center, schools, shopping centers, and the Youth Friendly Centre.
Despite the challenging issues many of the local youths concentrate on sports while some go back to their land, bush and water planting garden crops, pruning coffee trees and building fishponds, they see this as means to earn.
Mr Itaki during the MoU signing expressed that once the mechanism was in place, NYDA would look for other programs like leadership training and skills development programs targeting educated, semi-educated and uneducated youths in our rural areas.
This will be open door for youths that have not participated in the mainstream development or are being left out in the process.
Furthermore, NYDA policies are slowly taking shape within the last 12 months and have been urged to accelerate its activities and programs throughout the country. The establishment of the LLG Youth Development Councils, District Youth Development Councils and Provincial Youth Development Councils is ongoing as youth facilitators from NYDA were continually assign to rural areas at the districts and LLGs to mobilize, facilitate and establish youth council networks. These officers many times leave behind their loved ones, kids, and families at home to go to remote part of each province only to strengthen youth network.
Some of the many achievements so far achieved by NYDA is the National Youth Policy 2020-2030 that was revised and approved by NEC, establishment of 10 district youth development councils within the 8 provinces since 2019, improving of the authority corporate image and others.
The Director General has urged all youth development councils group be established before 2022 so that other training including capacity building, life skills, rehabilitation programs and others which NYDA partnered with will flow through this channel for youths to partake resources both at the rural and national level.