Empowering Pacific youth

The Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) small grants programme has brought to light a showcase that shares and highlights the work of the YPL small grantees 2024 cohort.

United States (US) Pacific Regional Engagement Specialist of the US Embassy in Auckland and coordinator of the YPL programme, Mara Hosodua Su’a, said: “The programme is one that we’ve been running throughout the year.

“The teams have received up to $10,000 US government funds to implement projects in their own countries, really driving what they see as priorities for young people in our Pacific region.

Mara Hosodua Su'a (left) in Niue coordinating one of the YPL projects /Photo/PMN News/Sariah Magaoa

“We’ve got about 13 different teams showcasing what they’ve been up to the last couple of months and the projects they’ve implemented.”

YPL programme runs across 24 different Pacific island nations, with 13 teams from the Cook Islands, Sāmoa, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Solomon Islands, and Fiji, “to name a few”.

“This is the third time that we’ve run this showcase,” Su’a said.

“The projects have changed every year because we have different teams that run and apply and are successful in getting funding to run projects.

Su’a said that these projects focussed on addressing issues important to Pacific youth, such as cultural preservation, education, language revitalisation, gender-based violence, and emotional resilience.

“Some of the projects are talking about rebuilding traditional houses in the Solomon Islands to enable connections between youth and elders and really conserve our culture in the face of climate change.

“There are projects that have worked to establish university associations across different Pacific countries like Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Sāmoa.

YPL small grants showcase 2024 in Auckland. Photo/Young Pacific Leaders/Facebook

“There are projects that have to address our language loss in the Pacific, specifically Cook Islands Māori, creating a dual-lingual type of app to encourage people to speak their language and learn more.

“There’s also programmes addressing gender-based violence and encouraging self-defence, as well as emotional resilience in New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.”

Su’a is inviting interested individuals or groups to sign up and apply for their grants programme.

“Our grants cycle will likely open later this year after we complete this round and people can apply online … through our Young Pacific Leaders Facebook page.

“In addition to running the small grants program, we have a number of conferences and workshops that people may be eligible to apply for or interested in applying for.”

This includes sports mentoring programme, different scholarships, and fellowships to study in Hawai’i and the US, Su’a said.

The YPL small grants showcase this week is a great opportunity for future interests and to hear the success stories of the 13 teams and their innovative projects.

For more information on the showcase and their programmes, follow their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/YoungPacificLeaders