The Pacific Community (SPC) is institutional custodian of the Pacific Youth Development Framework (PYDF) 2014-2023, launched by Pacific Ministers for Youth in Noumea in 2013.
The PYDF was a response to calls from young people and their partners and stakeholders for greater support for the implementation of countries’ youth policies, and to address barriers to progress. It was developed for the purpose of increasing and coordinating investments in Pacific youth across development sectors and designed to be a collaborative effort between SPC and the Pacific Youth Council (PYC).
The PYDF has four (4) outcome areas:
(a) More young people secure decent employment.
(b) Young people’s health status is improved.
(c) Governance structures empower young people to increase their influence in decision-making processes.
(d) More young people participate in environmental action.
Pacific ministers meet regularly to assess and discuss the state of play on critical matters relevant to their portfolios and take decisions as required to address these critical matters – for example, Pacific Island Forum Leaders meet annually, Pacific Ministers for Culture, Pacific Ministers for Health, Pacific Ministers for Education, Pacific Ministers for Agriculture, Pacific Ministers for Fisheries, and Pacific Ministers for Culture, meet biennially, while Pacific Ministers for Women meet triennially.
Pacific Ministers for Youth, however, do not similarly convene notwithstanding the many issues facing Pacific youth in respect of which regional consensus and approaches may help address. Over the recent past, there have been several pieces of work relevant to Pacific youth which could have been supported and progressed more effectively through a sustained regional approach centred around an accountability mechanism for such work – for example, the State of Pacific Youth Reports of 2005, 2011 and 2017 and the Pacific Youth Development Framework 2014- 2023 (PYDF). The lifecycle of the PYDF came to its conclusion in 2023.
SPC has conducted a review of the PYDF and in 2023, sent to governments, administrations, National Youth Machineries, CROP, UN and development partners the review report, the SPC management response and a proposal for a pathway to building a regional accountability mechanism for youth development.
For 2024, SPC is focussing its efforts on consultations widely with National Youth Machineries, the Pacific Youth Council, National Youth Councils. CROP, UN, development agencies on the proposal that the regular meeting of the Pacific Ministers for Youth be the accountability mechanism for youth development in the Pacific, within the frame of a new Pacific Youth Development Framework (PYDF) or Strategy.
HRSD is organising three key convenings this year (2024 to meet this objective):
- Pacific Youth Council/National Youth Councils/Regional CSOs convening 29 April – 3 May 2024
- Senior Officials Ministries (SOM) meeting: 13 – 15 August 2024
- Pacific Ministers for Youth Meeting (PMYM) 4 – 5 September 2024
Read the Pacific Youth Development Framework (PYDF) 2014-2023
The Pacific Youth Development Framework (2014–2023): mid-term review report 2021-2022 is also available.
Find out about the Youth convenings.