CYP South Pacific Centre successfully completes its regional advisory board meeting

I am sure that each participating country at the meeting went home with a lot of hope and trust that the CYP SP is now in good hands and that we can now work as partners to enhance youth development in our own respective countries and in the region."

(Ms Sigimanu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women, Children & Youth, Solomon Islands)

The CYP South Pacific Centre Regional Advisory Board (RAB) and Regional Youth Caucus (RYC), met in Rarotonga, Cook Islands from the 19^th to 21^st September 2007. Senior Government representatives and national youth representatives from the islands and member countries met in the spirit of one of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s mandates from the 2005 CHOGM ‘Respecting Differences, Promoting Understanding’, and received and deliberated on key issues relating to the youth of the Pacific region. This was the first RAB meeting for the new team at the CYP South Pacific Centre. The main objective of the meeting was to:

· Review the work programme and activities of the Commonwealth Youth Programme/ South Pacific Centre and youth issues in the Pacific region over the period

· To provide guidance to the CYP/SP on youth issues and country and regional priorities for youth development over the next planning cycle 2008-2012

The meeting commenced with a traditional chant acknowledging the presence and origins of all participants to the Cook Islands, and to the meeting. The chanter traced the origins of Pacific people and ended by assuring the participants and all attending and working for the meeting that their presence and visit is placed in an honourable place.

Ms Afu Billy, Regional Director of CYP/SP extended a welcome to participants (regional and international) attending this meeting. She paid tribute to Sir Thomas Davis, and acknowledged his contribution to development in the Cook Islands. She outlined that the RYC and RAB meetings were an important part of numerous processes to fill critical information gaps in the region, which would ensure that the CYP could offer quality youth development programmes that encompasses a particular set of values and principles, and which would enable the region to have a realistic commitment to the young people of the Pacific region.

Ms Cristal de Saldanha, Adviser Youth Development, Youth Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, London in her address said that this year Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) will meet to look at the recommendations of the ‘Respect and Understanding’ commission as well as other matters. She echoed the thoughts of the CYP Director, Dr Fatiha Serour, who asked the RAB/RYC to look at our roles and mandates; to reflect over the past years and see how we could reposition ourselves as an advisory board to do two things; look upwards to see how to support the policy making and look downwards to see how to strengthen the capacity to implement programmes and then report back. An important meeting outcome will be to take back a resolution to governments to seriously consider the resource allocation to youth affairs.

She informed the delegates that at the 6th Commonwealth Youth Ministers’ meeting held in The Bahamas, Ministers agreed to support the four CYP Centres to become Centres of Excellence in an area of significance to that region. She asked the delegates to seriously consider the area in which CYP South Pacific Centre wants to be a Centre of Excellence. Ms Cristal de Saldanha encouraged the delegates to evaluate effectiveness of CYP work mandates, and to engage in an analysis of what has been implemented and to consider linkages between RYC and RAB and especially to support the work of RYC.

Guest speaker at the meeting, Dr Jimmy Rodgers, the Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, in his address said that young people are national assets, not liabilities. They must be provided with an opportunity and a conducive environment. He reminded the participants that they have the responsibility of deciding some important strategic directions which will determine what opportunities and environment we wish to provide for youth in the pacific region.

The Acting Minister of Youth Affairs, Government of Cook Islands, Hon. Wilkie Rasmussen, in his keynote address, encouraged meeting participants to take the deliberations and outcomes of this meeting to a higher level as youth affairs is an important concern for all island governments. He acknowledged the work of CYP/SP in serving the region and thanked the Centre for giving the opportunity of hosting this meeting to the Cook Islands.

During the two day meeting, delegates deliberated on a number of issues and provided the CYPSP Centre strategic directions in its programmes for the next four years. Some of the highlights of the meeting were as follows:

• Country presentations on youth issues were made by the representatives and best practices on youth development were shared and discussed.
• The CYPSP Centre presented its activities report for the last two years.
• The RYC presented its activities report and the key issues and directions for 2007-2009. The key issues for the youth in the region that the RYC identified were education & livelihoods, health & wellbeing, and governance, leadership and democratic processes.
• Centre of Excellence and Youth Mainstreaming
• The presentation on the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE) 2007-2015
• The presentation of CYP South Pacific Centre Strategic Plan to the delegates and its endorsement.
• Presentation of papers on Professionalising Youth Work, Youth Governance and Participation, and Meaningful Engagement among RAB, RYC and CYP/SP.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of a communiqué. The meeting was a huge success and a number of delegates expressed their appreciation to the CYP and to the country representatives for the success of the meeting. The Permanent Secretary of the Solomon Islands Ministry of Women, Youth and Children, Ms Ethel Sigimanu summed up the sentiments of the delegates by saying that:

"I wish to congratulate the CYP team for a job well done. Within a short span of time since your appointments you have done exceptionally well. I am sure that each participating country at the meeting went home with a lot of hope and trust that the CYP SP is now in good hands and that we can now work as partners to enhance youth development in our own respective countries and in the region. May I also take this opportunity to thank the participating delegations for your contributions and foresight. Our delegation has learnt a lot from your interventions which have also helped us to form the basis for our own programming as well.

To the host Government of Cook Islands, thank you for being such wonderful hosts. We have also learnt a lot from what we saw in and outside of the meeting. To all our RYC members, we admire your commitment and dedication. You have inspired us with a lot of your brilliant ideas and contributions. Thank you for displaying great leadership at the meeting. Sometimes we senior citizens fail to look through your eyes and often push ahead with our own agenda. You have taught us that this is a partnership and that our contributions put together will make a whole lot of difference."

Secretariat Links:

• Speech at the CYP Pacific Regional Advisory Board Meeting