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• Paul Peteru, Pacific Centre Programme Manager in dialogue with Tongan youth stakeholders

Paul Peteru, Pacific Centre Programme Manager in dialogue with Tongan youth stakeholders

25 October 2007

The Programme Manager was presented with a request to visit Tonga with the intention of progressing the dialogue on youth development

A whopping seventy percent of Tonga’s 100,000 population lives on the island of Tongatapu. The island of Tongatapu is very picturesque, a meld of rural vs. urban sprawl. Seventy three percent plus of the total population of Tonga is under the age of 34 years. Nuku’alofa the capital of Tonga and the thriving centre of Tongatapu life served as host for the National Youth Forum and Canoe Festival.

The CYP Pacific Centre Programme Manager Paul Peteru in the lead up to his visit to Tonga had been in dialogue with Tongan youth stakeholders. When the opportunity in the wings of the Regional Advisory Board (RAB) meeting in Rarotonga – in September – presented itself to dialogue further, the Programme Manager was presented with a request by Dr. Taniela Fusimalohi (CEO Ministry of Training, Education, Youth and Sports) and Mr. Drew Havea (President of the Tongan National Youth Congress/Civil Society) to visit Tonga with the intention of progressing the dialogue on youth development there.

The Programme Manager was hosted in Tonga by Ms. Vanesa Lolohea Acting Director of the Tongan National Youth Congress (TNYC). The TNYC were the event coordinators of both the Youth Forum and the Canoe Festival. The Tonga National Youth Forum was notable for the inclusion of youth representatives from the outer islands of Tonga. Just as in previous national youth forums in the Cook Islands and in Tuvalu the events organisers had identified that ‘main island’ youth were better able to access youth development opportunities compared to their outer islands cousins.

The Programme Manager made a presentation to the Youth Forum concerning the role of CYP in the region and the professionalisation of the youth work sector. Key points presented to the Youth Forum included discussing how youth development:

• Encompasses a young person’s ability to critically participate in the economy and politics; 
• Addresses the broader development needs of youth, in contrast to deficit-based models;
• Is triggered when young people fully participate

Issues brought to the attention of the Programme Manager included:

• The need for youth representation in Tonga to be truly representative of all of the islands;
• The need for better support to students undertaking the Diploma in Youth Development; and
• The need for improved cooperation between the NGO sector and government.

Tongan National Canoe Festival

Running parallel to the Tongan National Youth Forum was the Tongan National Canoe Festival. The festival was an initiative of the Tonga National Youth Congress and Mr. Sitiveni Fehoko, head carver and founder of the festival. Mr. Sitiveni Fehoko gave a brief background of the festival saying that, “This is the first festival of its kind, and aims to revive a dormant art of Tongan canoe carving and to celebrate Tonga’s canoe history. In her remarks, Her Royal Highness Princess Latufuipeka (Patron) said that members of Tonga’s National Youth Congress are really happy to be part of the festival. She further said:

“Not only is it an opportunity for us to socialise with other youth from the other islands, but it also enables us to share our knowledge and learn from one another. This will also enable us to discover our talent in carving, which could be a major income earning for some of us”

Youth together with master carvers built several canoes (Va’a or Vaka) which culminated in their launch on Saturday 13^th October 2007. Her Royal Highness Princess Patron of the Tongan National Youth Congress officially scrutinized the canoes and made presentations to the carvers and to the youth. The Vaka perhaps symbolizes for many Pacific Island youth the ancestral connections with the present emphasizing how today’s youth must navigate new territories just as their celebrated ancestors had many years before.

Tongan Youth Stakeholders Meeting

The Programme Manager made two presentations to the Tongan Youth Stakeholders Meeting held Friday 12^th October 2007; one was on the CYP Pacific Centre and its programme areas, providing examples of work carried out in the region. The second presentation included an interactive session where the Programme Manager endeavoured to gauge meeting participants understanding about a youth development approach and what a professionalized youth work sector might look like. Key findings from the stakeholder dialogue included:

• Request by youth stakeholders that CYP and other international agencies work more collaboratively in supporting youth in Tonga;
• Acknowledgement from youth stakeholders that the stakeholders meeting has been very productive; however, there is a need for the youth ministry, supported by an entity such as CYP to facilitate a more comprehensive youth and youth stakeholders forum;
• Improved support to students undertaking studies in youth development; the meeting noted that only one student was currently undertaking DYD study; 
• That a youth and youth stakeholders forum be held before December given the need to build on the discussions and decisions made at this stakeholders meeting; and to capitalize on the momentum of regional meetings held in Tonga;
• CYP provide to the youth and youth stakeholders forum options for youth workers to be validated through undertaking studies in youth development.