Sixty (60) young leaders from 14 Provinces, including the National Capital District are participating in this year’s National Youth Parliament in Port Moresby.
Facilitated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA in partnership with the National Youth Development Authority and with funding support from the European Union’s Spotlight Initiative, the Youth Parliament is being held from 11th - 15th December 2023.
The Youth Parliament was first conducted in 2020 and since then it has extended to the provincial level, with UNFPA and NYDA, convening the first provincial youth parliament in Morobe, this year.
Youth Parliament enables young people to attain the confidence and knowledge to become leaders and gain skills in self-awareness and assertiveness. It teaches youths the principles and qualities of good leaders, national and international human rights instruments and the constitution of PNG, as well as training on data use for them to be able to undertake evidence-based debates, advocacy and activism.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Richard Howard in his opening remarks today, challenged the 60 successful applicants of the 2023 Youth Parliament to be leaders where they are and where they can.
“How you treat the people around you and your behaviour towards them is leadership. Taking care of people around you is leadership. You must do better and lead better and this year's Youth Parliament is an opportunity for you to do exactly that and explore your ability to lead and be a leader.”
“It does not matter if you are working in a restaurant doing dishes or if you are holding a top post as the UN Resident Coordinator, you have the ability to lead where you can.”
The Deputy Director of the National Youth Development Authority Dorcas Mileng stressed on the importance of being not just a leader but a quality leader. She welcomed the youth parliament initiative as a mechanism for building the critical mass of young leaders the country needs to develop.
“You have to be deliberate about being a leader and the type of leader you want to be. Leadership is at all levels and as young leaders, you will need to learn fast and acquire quality skills to provide better leadership”, Ms. Mileng emphasized.
“We as a nation have to be deliberate and conscious about developing quality leaders and such a youth leadership program as the youth parliament is good for us to prepare young people to lead since leadership occurs at all levels in society. “
“NYDA will support this year's Youth Parliament cohorts as it has done for the past 3 years because we believe that this is the beginning of the type of quality leaders we want to see for our country,” NYDA’s Deputy Director concluded.
Also present at the opening of this year's Youth Parliament was the European Union Ambassador Jacque Fradin, who in his opening remarks emphasized the potential for youth leadership in good governance and development of Papua New Guinea. He challenged the 60 successful applicants to be inquisitive and to ask questions about issues that affect them.
The week-long event will have experts across different fields talk to youth about leadership, human rights, the constitution and elections, and social issues such as gender-based violence.
“I urge you young leaders here to work together and raise issues and concerns as one collective voice. Ask the questions and as much as you can, drain every information you can from these sessions.”
This year saw a total of 406 young leaders applying and after a thorough screening process, only 60 were selected.