DRAFT TALKING POINTS for UNDP Deputy Resident Representative

                                                                       Yemesrach Workie

                                         Inauguration of Pacific Youth Advisory Board on Governance

                                                                              11 May 2023

                                                                     Auckland, New Zealand

The Honourable Simon Kofe, Minister for Justice, Communication, and Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu,

Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mr. Henry Puna,

University of the South Pacific Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Pal Ahluwalia,

USP Students’ Association Deputy Secretary General, Mr Aneet Kumar,

Excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps,

Distinguished Officials,

Students and young leaders from across the Pacific,

Colleagues and friends,

Good evening to you all!

On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme, I am delighted to welcome you all to the inauguration of the Pacific Youth Advisory Board on Governance.

It gives me great pleasure to note today that Pacific youth is already recognized for making huge leaps forward on this agenda, settling for nothing less than policy influence.

An evident demonstration of this progress is the transformation we are seeing today of the Pacific youth movement, led by the University of the South Pacific Students’ Association (USPSA), into a formal body affiliated with the work of regional organizations and CROP agencies.

The vision of the Board therefore aligns very closely with UNDP’s core values related to achieving sustainable development through participatory governance. With that thought in mind, I offer UNDP’s heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to everyone involved in the Pacific youth anti-corruption movement and specifically to the members of the Youth Advisory Board.

You have indeed ‘stepped up’ and I hope you find the engagement rewarding and impactful.

There’s certainly significant responsibility attached to this initiative.

First, with a mandate to facilitate dialogue between youth and inter-governmental bodies such as PIFS on a range of governance issues – including specifically anti-corruption and right to information – the Board will have responsibility to inform policy discussions on behalf of Pacific youth. This group currently represents over half of the Pacific population and offers a significant demographic dividend as we go forwards.

Second, the work of the Advisory Board is informed by important regional governance commitments under the 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy and the Pacific unity against Corruption - Teieniwa Vision. UNDP’s regional anti-corruption team has been actively supporting this initiative from its initial adoption in Kiribati in early 2020 through to support for its implementation. This will ensure coherence and maximization of results.

Third, the Board will also work to strengthen the inclusion and sustained involvement of non-state actors – such as media, academic, community and faith-based organizations – and engage national, regional and international development partners to support the safeguarding of the Blue Pacific Continent with focus on good governance. This will ensure that no one is left behind.

As part of UNDP’s next generation of good governance work, we have increasingly been leveraging the power of youth to boost anti-corruption efforts.

The importance of integrity and stronger youth action on anti-corruption, transparency and accountability towards progress on the sustainable development agenda has been discussed through key national, regional and global youth events, as I introduced earlier today. Mobilising young leaders across the Pacific countries the youth voices and actions have consolidated to the Pacific youth anti-corruption movement with the commitment statement as the Youth Vision, and I’m sure most of you know what it is about!

So, I am delighted that we have come this far today as we celebrate the formalization of an initiative that will not only see the energy and enthusiasm of young people relayed to regional leadership, but more importantly will give structured and institutionalized voice to young people’s anti-corruption concerns and innovative thinking.

I am also pleased to have the opportunity to thank our strategic partners today, from PIFS and the Pacific leaders as well as the Governments of participating countries and leaders, and all young people present. I also wish to specifically thank our donors, the Governments of the United Kingdom and New Zealand, who have recognized the power of youth to advance the anti-corruption agenda in the region and have enthusiastically supported this work.

Our work together represents an important example of how forging multi-level partnerships and consolidating resources, knowledge, and skills, can boost aid effectiveness, coherence and lead to greater impact.

Finally, I thank you all for your attention and again wish the Pacific youth integrity movement and particularly the new Youth Advisory Board every success. UNDP stands ready to continue to accompany you on this journey to even greater success!