Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus welcomes a new Chairperson

On Thursday 24 April, Mr Mobafa Baker, the incumbent Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus Chairperson from the Caribbean Region officially handed over the chairmanship to Mr Matthew Albert from the Pacific region. In a process designed to rotate the Chairmanship to each region, the youth representatives elected their new Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among nominees presented from the Pacific Region.

Mr Matthew Albert, the current Regional Youth Caucus (RYC) representative for Australia will be assisted by Ms Ebonie Fifita, the RYC for Tonga who has been elected as the Vice-Chairperson. Ms Fifita will in two years take up the position of Chair following elections to decide who will be Vice-Chair.

Ms Ebonie Fifita, representative for Tonga was elected as Vice-Chair

Mr Matthew Albert, in his new role will serve as the Pan Commonwealth Chairperson; the official head of youth representative for the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Matthew Albert, 26, works full-time as a lawyer. At 20, Matthew co-founded the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning (SAIL) Program which now engages over 300 volunteers across Melbourne, Australia.

He writes for newspapers and magazines on current affairs and is frequently invited to speak to youth, educational and community groups. In 2004, Matthew worked for the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees in Nairobi, Kenya and at the Kakuma refugee camp.

He was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World, by the Junior Chamber International in 2005 for his contributions to "children, world peace and human rights". Also in 2005, Matthew was awarded the Victorian Young Australian of the Year.

These elections are an important testament to the value and contribution of the youth to the CYP structure and mandate over the years. Young people from across the Commonwealth will participate in all aspects of the decision processes at 7CYMM through the CYP’s unique Regional Youth Caucus mechanism.

The Regional Youth Caucus (RYC) is a dynamic mechanism designed to facilitate the engagement of youth on all areas of youth development policy and planning within the CYP. Drawn from national youth bodies and meeting in four Regional Youth Caucuses (Africa Asia, Caribbean and Pacific) youth express their views, opinions and feelings concerning the strategic direction and focus of the youth development agenda in the CYP.

The Pan-Commonwealth Regional Advisory Board Meeting held on 24 April also provided an invaluable opportunity for senior officials from across the Commonwealth to interface with youth on important youth development issues affecting their respective regions. Government officials and RYC representatives discussed strategies to be incorporated into the CYP strategic planning for the next planning cycle (2008-2012).

Secretariat Links:

• Youth Caucus