Papua New Guinea National Youth Commission

The National Youth Commission (NYC) is mandated by the government to be the central agency in youth affairs of the country. The Commission strives to build relationships and establish networks among stakeholders nationally, regionally and globally for greater attention and action on the issues and aspirations of youths.

Vision

Transform and Empower Youths for Nation Building.

Mission

To be a lead agency in promoting and coordinating sustainable services for young people in partnership with stakeholders.

Values

• Participatory – encourage dialogue and sharing responsibilities with stakeholders.
• Accountable – dispensing our responsibilities with due diligence and to the satisfaction of our stakeholders.
• Result-driven – working hard to accomplish results in what we plan to do in our programmes and activities.
• Innovative – discovering new ideas and practices to improve our mode of operations.

Mandate

The National Youth Commission is guided by the National Youth Commission Act 1999. The Act gives the Commission important powers to operate as the overall custodian of all youth issues in Papua New Guinea.

Functions and Responsibilities

• Co-ordinate policy development and provide policy advice to the Government on matters pertaining to youth.
• Provide policy and technical advice to the Provincial
• Governments and Local Level Governments on matters pertaining to youth.
• Identify and provide training opportunities for employees of National, Provincial and Local level Government as well as other men and women.
• Facilitate relevant research on youth matters.
• Establish standards, re-enforce and monitor the level of services offered to youths by government and nonprofit organisations.
• Monitor the execution of National Youth Development
• Plans at the Provincial and District levels.
• Provide opportunities to enable youths to participate meaningfully in activities at the International, National and Local Levels.

The core divisions of the National Youth Commission are:

• Executive
  Responsible for the overall management and administration of the Commission.
• Policy Development Co-ordination and Research
  Directs and oversees the effective co-ordination and development of the National Youth Policy in compliance with the National Development Goals and Objectives entailed in the Medium Term Development Plan and functions and responsibilities of the division.
• Programmes and Revenue Projects Co-ordination
  Provides advice and oversees the major revenue raising mechanism to be established within the National Youth Commission. Also, the division provides advice and assistance to Provincial and Local Level Government based youth groups for facilitating and implementing programmes and business projects.
• Education, Training and Youth Rehabilitation
  Responsible for conducting resource training of trainers’ courses and assists in the development of commercial training programmes in nature for marketing and revenue raising purposes.
• Corporate Services (Administration)
  Responsible for matters relating to Finance and Administration and Human Resource Development.

The 8th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting (8CYMM) was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 16-19 April 2013 under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Loujaya Toni, Minister for Youth, Religion and Community Development in Papua New Guinea.

Delegates from 38 countries attended with high level discussions and interaction. Three forums were held simultaneously: the youth leaders, senior officials, and stakeholders. The final outcome was the formulation of the 8CYMM Communiqué with resolutions to be presented at the next CHOGM.

The Hon. Peter O’Neill, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea opened the meeting. The Secretary General of the Commonwealth expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister, government and people of Papua New Guinea for hosting the 8CYMM. The Chair of the pan Commonwealth Youth caucus addressed the opening ceremony calling on Youth Ministers, senior officials and stakeholders to engage authentically with young people at the meeting.

Commonwealth Youth Issues and Resolution by Ministers

The theme of the 8CYMM is young people at the centre of sustainable development. The meeting commended the reports and noted the need to value and invest in the potential of Commonwealth young people, and to ensure that each country has in place policies and enabling environments that promote youth engagement and empowerment at all spheres, be it social, economic or political.

Youth-Led Voice

The meeting examined the current context of decision making in and beyond the Commonwealth, and the extent to which there is meaningful youth participation, and informed access to decision making processes.
The establishment of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) was strongly suggested.

Young people in post-2015 Development Agenda

The meeting noted that they had an excellent opportunity to raise a collective Commonwealth voice to advocate for a specific youth focused goal to be included in the new post-2015 development agenda and developed a recommendation to the UN High-Level Panel.

Values-based leadership

The meeting discussed the concept of values-based leadership and its relationship to sustainable development, and how this can be promoted and role modeled in the Commonwealth.

Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship

The meeting benefitted from key thinking and discussions on youth employment, which is a major concern in the Commonwealth. Discussions focused on the need for policies that promote decent work for youths, for public works’ programmes that increase labour demand, and for greater efforts, including partnerships with the private sector, to ease the constraints to youth entrepreneurship.

Partnerships and Collaboration

Acknowledging the potential and power of collective impact, the meeting endorsed the need for partnership at all levels for evidence-based and asset-based youth development that will respond to the life stages and discrete needs of varying youth cohorts.

Resolutions from the Final Communique

• Young people at the centre of sustainable development
• Youth participation and voice
• Young people in the post-2015 development agenda
• Values-based leadership
• Youth employment and enterprise
• Role of the Commonwealth Youth Programme in Commonwealth Youth Employment

Please contact us via the form at the right hand side of the page, or alternatively, use the information listed below:

PO Box 1028,
Waigani,
National Capital District,
Papua New Guinea

Tel: +675 323 1228 / 323 0284
Fax: +675 323 6745

Email: norit.luio@gmail.com / nluio@yahoo.com / nluio@nyc.gov.pg                                                      Website: www.nyc.gov.pg