Press release.
WASHINGTON – Building on five years of success in collaboration with emerging leaders in the Pacific, the U.S. Department of State, in partnership with Cultural Vistas, is pleased to announce the 46 leaders from 20 Pacific countries and territories chosen to attend the 2019 Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) Conference taking place in Suva, Fiji from March 6—9, 2019.
Delegates were selected from a competitive application process open to leaders ages 25-35 from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Islands of French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and the American-affiliated Pacific including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii.
The #YoungPacificLeaders conference this March in Fiji provides young professionals, aged 25-35, with the skills and knowledge to advance their region’s economic vibrancy and civic engagement.
Learn more 👇https://t.co/lFNdLQGfqi pic.twitter.com/IK6n1xb6IX
— Cultural Vistas (@CulturalVistas) November 30, 2018
The conference will foster connections between new YPL delegates and past alumni to develop a regional network of young leaders. Conference sessions, led by experts from across the Pacific, will aim to provide the knowledge and skills for conference participants to address challenges related to the four YPL program pillars:
- Civic leadership
- Environment and resource management
- Education
- Economic and social development
In addition to the four-day conference in Suva, attendees will spend three weeks prior to the conference participating in virtual activities to help the participants get to know each other and develop best practices of networking and collaboration.
Post-program activities will focus on highlighting the impact of YPL members in the region. This will include the introduction of YPL LEADS (Lead, Engage, Advocate, Drive Change, and Serve) — a weeklong event during the first week of May in which participants from 2019 and the larger YPL alumni network will collaborate with each other as they serve as advocates giving back to their communities through a service activity.
About YPL
Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) is a youth leadership development program organized by the United States Department of State. The YPL network includes emerging Pacific leaders from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Islands of French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and the American-affiliated Pacific including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii. The program started in 2013 and has held five regional conferences in American Samoa (2013), Independent State of Samoa (2014), Auckland (2015), Honolulu (2016), and Honolulu (2018). In 2018, the YPL Small Grants Program was launched—providing seed funding to implement 12 innovative projects run by 36 YPL members throughout the Pacific region.
Follow the Young Pacific Leaders on Facebook, Instagram, and via the Twitter hashtags #YPL and #YoungPacificLeaders.
