Te Ipukarea rep joins future leaders learning skills in Apia

By Charles Pitt

Ewan Cameron, Youth Coordinator for Te Ipukarea Society, recently returned from Samoa, where he attended the “Pacific Future Environment Leaders Forum” in Apia.
The Pacific Future Environment Leaders Forum is a leadership programme for young adults interested in sustainable development issues facing the Pacific.
Funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a joint initiative between the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the Pacific Youth Environment Network (PYEN), the forum focused on skill-based learning.
This was in areas such as leadership, sustainability issues, project management, community collaboration, critical thinking, and regional environment management and polices.
Coordinating the forum was SPREP and Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The forum, said Cameron, is the first step in fostering sustainable leadership. The programme was in four phases to promote environmental sustainability for young people.
Phase one, skill building, has taken place in the forum.
Phase two, networking, uses PYEN as a mechanism for young people in the Pacific to develop a keen interest in environmental issues in the Pacific. PYEN which was established by UNEP to provide this service will work closely to encourage and engage youth.
SPREP will work with the University of the South Pacific (USP) to support the expansion of PYEN to provide this mechanism for young USP students. This is to expand existing skills, resources, and to access opportunities to strengthen leadership skills.

MENTORS
Phase three, mentorship, is a key element of the youth leadership programme. It provides opportunities for young people to establish connections with mentors who can provide support in various areas. SPREP will work with USP, UNEP, and PYEN along with other regional agencies to connect young people to potential mentors.
Phase four, internship and placements, provides on the job training as a key method to reinforcing skills learning, and to access work with key agencies to explore possibilities to provide work placements.
Participants had the opportunity to hear from speakers such as:
- Faumuina Liuga, Samoa’s Minister for Natural Resources & Environment and a former United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) international officer;
- Asterio Takesy, the Director of SPREP and a former senior Federated States of Micronesia government official;
- Surendra Shrestha, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific for the United Nations Environment Programme.
KEY
Following the opening were key presentations.
- Surendra Shrestha spoke on the topic of mainstreaming the environment in Asia and the Pacific,
- Seve Paeniu, from SPREP, spoke on Environment for sustainable development issues in the Pacific,
- Sahil Prasad of PYEN explained the background, objectives, and activities.
- Tangata Vainerere from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) spoke on strengthening youth participation, on a regional perspective.
There was a panel discussion with Shrestha, Takesy, Zita Tago Martel, and Ben Namakin, from the Conservation Society of Pohnpei to answer questions on the topic “What is good leadership?”
Cameron said he found the forum very practical and hands on. He learnt new skills and enhanced existing skills.
The forum focused on developing four sets of skills. The subject matters were:
# Skill one - “Turning your dream into a reality” which included paying attention to how one plans a project using the method of the project management cycle, proposal writing, how to be a good time manager, and the ten commandments of a good meeting.
Skill two - “Negotiation skills”, - utilising key pointers from the Pacific Islands Negotiations Manual (PINMAN), such as the “eight steps to making an Intervention and eighteen negotiating tips”.
Skill three - “Exploring Dynamics”, - teaches you how important and effective group work can be, it also taught what a facilitator is, their functions and at best, how to be a good facilitator.
Skill four - “Communications”, - a very important tool to the success of a campaign. It covered messages, target audience, clarity, and the different resources, such as - most common, media, posters, websites, awareness rising days, information settings, and many other forms of resources that can be used in the subject of communication.
Cameron said he thanked the following people and agencies for the opportunity and their assistance in preparation for the forum:
- Vaitoti Tupa, Director of the National Environment Services,
- Myra Moekaa, Assistant International Legal Advisor, Foreign Affairs,
- Piniki Utia, Director of Youth & Sports, Internal Affairs,
- Jacqui Evans, President of Te Ipukarea Society.
Cameron said the forum had given him plenty of choices to exploit as an advocate and he had made many new friends. He now feels part of a youth network striving to create change within our environment.

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