Youth creating awareness

04 March 2016, 12:00AM

The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Lizbeth Cullity and her team, held a training session on the Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.Gs) for the Tokelau National Youth Group. 

The Tokelau Youth Group is a network of 60 young people from the three atolls, supported by their respective local governments called “Taupulega”. 

The group was established in the late 1990's but due to funding constraints, they only managed to revive their association in September 2015 during the South-South Sub Regional Youth Initiative on Climate Change Meeting.  

Eleven members of the group came to Apia last week and therefore, taking advantage of their visit, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) arranged the session to give them the opportunity to learn about the new development agenda. 

Speaking with the U.N Resident Coordinator, she said: “Facilitating dialogue and engaging young people in the implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals is a top priority for the United Nations.

When given the chance youth can be agents of change and with their imagination, commitment and energy can enormously contribute to the successful implementation of the goals at local level. I am glad that we organized this training because in Tokelau, where there is no mass media, this very dynamic group of youth will help us with creating awareness on the SDGs within their communities.”

Ms. Litia Maiava, one of the participants, declared: “I really enjoyed the session particularly the part when we were asked to identify the SDGs that, in our opinion, were more relevant to Tokelau. I learned about the new global goals and how they relate to the development of our country.” 

And then she added: “I also realized how important can be the role that we [the youth] play by sharing the information within our families and friends. We [the youth] can really make a difference and contribute to make Tokelau - and the planet - a better place!”

U.N.D.P also provided informative materials to help the youth disseminate the information through community conversations in the upcoming months. 

04 March 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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