Youth rep attends forum in New York

A YOUNG Papua New Guinean recently attended the United Nations Economic and Social Council youth forum in New York.
Raylance Mesa, the youth delegate was selected as one of the youth champions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in PNG last year for her work with communities in Morobe, tackling issues ranging from climate change to education.
Before travelling to New York, she completed an induction course provided by the United Nations in PNG.
Mesa shared PNG’s experience at the forum, particularly in relation to Goal 2 of SDGs – ‘Food security and sustainable agriculture’, and Goal 13 – ‘Climate change’.
She was one of the few delegates from the Pacific and shared information about the region.
She also learned from the forum the power of youth as agents of change.
“The forum has reconfirmed my belief on how crucial it is for more young peoples to be part of implementing the goals,” Mesa said.
“To develop a nation requires more actors than just the government.
“As the SDGs are aimed at leaving no one behind, we cannot underestimate ourselves and we need to work together to advance our nation’s development agenda,”
Mesa was planning to educate others in her community about the importance of advocating for and implementing the goals together with three other UN youth champions for the SDGs.
United Nations resident coordinator in PNG Roy Trivedy said young people were valuable partners in contributing positive change to their communities and the entire country.
“PNG is a very young country where almost 30 per cent of our population is between the ages of 10 and 24,” Trivedy said
“These young people are active, creative and innovative and therefore we need to continue to engage with the youths.”