やしの実通信 by Dr Rieko Hayakawa

太平洋を渡り歩いて35年。島と海を国際政治、開発、海洋法の視点で見ていきます。

Pacific Youth Council ー 太平洋青年協議会

485585_665180080163844_1003965535_n.png

太平洋を渡り歩いて24年。 USPNetを日本のODAにするという大仕事をやらせていただいた。それに加えてこれも自慢したい事業。Pacific Youth Council - 地域機関を設置したのである。

自分のNGOのバックグラウンドは青年団体(内閣府系です)。国内の組織及びアジアと日本の組織の幹部を20代の時に経験し、組織作りや運営を学んだ。だからこそこのPacific Youth Councilー太平洋青年協議会を設置することができたのである。

この太平洋青年協議会、組織の産みの苦しみは味わったが、育ての苦しみは味わっていない。あれから20年。立派に成長してくれているようだ。現在の事務局から照会があったので下記に支援内容をアップしておく。1994-1997の4年間約2千4百万円の助成をさせていただいた。勿論お金を出しただけでなく知恵も出させていただいた。

現在のPacific Youth Council ウェッブサイト http://pacificyouthcouncil.com

Regional Conference for Pacific Youth

South Pacific Commission (New Caledonia)

Program/Guidelines

2. Human Resource Development and Educational Projects Conducted in Cooperation with Japan or Other Countries

Year FY1994

Grant 6,395,448yen

Implementation year 1/1

Project contents

Some 40% of the total population of the Pacific island nations region is made up of people under the age of 26. Despite that, several of these countries have yet to establish comprehensive educational policies, leaving their young people with little opportunity to receive adequate vocational training. The distressing background to this situation is that the region is also suffering the adverse effects of rapid social change, such as increased alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. This conference provides various people involved in tackling youth problems with important opportunities to meet and exchange ideas. In keeping with the Fund's broader goal of helping the island nations forge and strengthen links with other regions of the world, the conference included a number of Asian participants who greatly informed discussions on the potential for enhanced Asia-Pacific cooperation.

Establishment of Pacific Youth Council

South Pacific Commission (New Caledonia)

Program/Guidelines

2. Human Resource Development and Educational Projects Conducted in Cooperation with Japan or Other Countries

Year FY1995

Grant 4,614,584yen

Implementation year 1/3

Project contents

Despite the increasing proportional population of youth in the Pacific island nations―in most countries currently around half the total population―every year vocational training and employment prospects for young people dwindle while the problem of juvenile delinquency worsens. This project is aimed at nurturing the true human resource potential of the Pacific island nations through the creation of a region-wide youth organization and the promotion of cooperative activities between it and counterpart youth organizations in other parts of the world, particularly Asia. Substantial progress was made toward those goals in this, the project's first year. A meeting was held in April (1995) as a lead-up to the establishment of the proposed Pacific Youth Council, and from May through June four members of the project's executive committee visited Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Malaysia to liaise with youth affairs organizers in those countries and to attend the annual general meeting of the Asia Youth Council, held this year in the Republic of Korea in July.

Establishment of Pacific Youth Council

South Pacific Commission (New Caledonia)

Year FY1996

Year project budget

implementation 9,014,153yen

Implementation year 2/3

Project contents

A proposal to establish a Pacific Youth Council (PYC) was approved by the 4th Pacific Youth Conference held in 1994. Preparations toward that goal thereafter proceeded with the cooperation of the Asia Youth Council (AYC), and in 1995 a provisional PYC secretariat was set up. Thanks to these efforts, the inaugural general assembly of the PYC, originally scheduled for the third year of this project (1997), was held from 8 to 12 July 1996 at the headquarters of the South Pacific Commission (SPC) in New Caledonia. At the meeting, which included representatives of youth associations from SPC-member countries and of relevant government bodies, details of the PYC's charter, regulations, program and executive committee functions were finalized, the establishment of PYC was formally approved, and the members of its executive committee were elected. The PYC's establishment was given considerable media coverage not only locally but internationally as well, with Radio Australia conducting a telephone interview about the event. Furthermore, executives of the PYC and the AYC were given opportunities to strengthen their mutual ties at youth-related meetings held in Vienna and Beijing, respectively, under ESCAP and UN programs.

Establishment of Pacific Youth Council

South Pacific Commission (SPC) (New Caledonia)

Year FY1997

Year project budget

implementation 3,785,424yen

Implementation year 3/3

Project budget 17,414,161yen

Project contents

The combination of educational underdevelopment and a low-growth economic environment is making it increasingly difficult for young people in the Pacific Island nations to find employment. As a result, the incidence of delinquency among Islander youth is on the rise. This project represents an effort to reverse this trend through the establishment of a region-wide youth organization to foster young leaders in the region and engage in cooperative tie-ups and activities with youth organizations in other parts of the world, particularly Asia.

The plan to establish the Pacific Youth Council (PYC), in association with the Asia Youth Council (AYC), was approved at the 4th Pacific Youth Conference held in the Cook Islands in 1994, in which the AYC also took part. In 1995, a preparatory committee, including guest advisors from the AYC, was organized in Fiji, and the charter, structure and program of the PYC were drafted. In collaboration with concerned parties from various countries, the members of the provisional PYC secretariat then refined the charter and other details, and in 1996, the second year of this project, the PYC was officially established. In order to strengthen the PYC’s ties with youth organizations in Asia, members of the provisional PYC secretariat took part in next annual general assembly of the AYC, using the opportunity to raise awareness about the PYC’s establishment and to discuss the potential for future joint projects.

The establishment of the PYC was first proposed at the Regional Conference for Pacific Youth held in Fiji in 1975. Two decades later, that goal has been attained through a grant from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. With that fundamental hurdle cleared, the new organization is now focused on developing a practical program of activities while continuing to strengthen its ties with counterpart groups in Asia. Now that the three-year SPF grant has come to an end, the key challenge for the PYC, the SPC and other related organizations is to ensure that the new organization can continue under its own steam. Many grant-making organizations maintain a special interest in youth affairs, and it is hoped that in the future the PYC will be able to benefit from the assistance of such organizations as the Commonwealth Youth Program and relevant bodies within the United Nations.