Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama told 200 youths at a summit that they are ‘agents of real change’.
He made the statement at the opening of the National Youth Climate Action Summit at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva yesterday.
“Pacific youths will set an example for the world, showing that young Fijians aren’t just vulnerable bystanders or helpless onlookers,” he said.
“You aren’t driven by hidden agendas or swayed by corporate interests.
“Your participation isn’t political. Your purpose is pure, and your passion is raw. Your voices are loud, and your commitments are real.
“To me, your age doesn’t discredit you –– in fact, the opposite is true. For you, saving our climate isn’t some passing phase or extra-curricular activity –– it is the defining cause of your generation.”
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama (centre), with youths, Government ministers, officials during the opening of the National Youth Climate Action Summit at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva on March 16, 2021.
Photo: Ronald Kumar
The summit is organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Meanwhile, members of the Naqeledamu Youth Group in Tailevu are on a mission to be climate champions for their community.
Group president Neomai Railala said their village, Naqeledamu, has had its share of climate adversities and continues to do so with the reoccurrence of natural disasters.
“We hope to leave this two-day meet being climate change champions and be a voice of advocacy to Fijians and to the world,” she said.
“We depend on farming and selling our produce in the markets for our income, but because of the major disasters that we have been faced with, our source of income has continued to be damaged year in and year out.
“We are here on a mission and that is to be able to be a voice for good to the bigger countries who we know are the climate culprits.”
Edited by Ranoba Baoa
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