The Ministry of Human Resources, Culture, Tourism and Development said there is an ongoing effort to update the government youth policy to enhance the participation of the young people in decision-making.
During the Sasakawa Peace Foundation International Symposium on Sept. 9, Minister Ngirai Tmetuchl said youth empowerment is part of the government’s holistic approach to including all sectors of the community and how help can reach them. He said part of this planning process is also to engage with youth organizations.
“We’re currently updating our youth policy. And in doing that, we are looking at many aspects we are trying to actually try and connect and use a holistic approach to look at every facet of our community. And making sure that the national government works with our state governments and goes all the way down to each of the individualized community-based organizations especially the most vulnerable, to women,” Tmetuchl said during the symposium.
He noted that there appears to be a disconnect between the youth and the international community.
“As the international community, when we learned from the oceans conference, we’re similar. There are a lot of similarities there. But we find that there isn’t a network internationally or regionally that can address these issues. And so part of the planning process will engage with your organization.”
He said it is the ministry’s aim to amplify the voices of the youth from the community on the regional and international stage. Tmetuchl said it will need support from organizations like Nippon Foundation to Sasakawa to advance these plans.