1 | P a g e D R A F T f o r D I S C U S S I O N

ZERO DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE FIJI NATIONAL YOUTH AND SPORTS

CONFERENCE
24
th
25
th
June 2014, Vodafone Arena, Suva.
Suva Declaration on Youth
Preamble:
We, the 500 representatives of youth from community, district, provincial,
faith-based organisations, youth-led organisations, development partners
along with civil society from throughout Fiji, have gathered in Suva, from
24
th
25
th
June 2014 for the National Youth and Sports Conference to
explore ways and means to strengthen youth participation in decision
making processes within the agreed framework of the National Youth Policy.

In this regard we the youth representatives;

Note the discussions held during the National Youth and Sports Conference;

We recognize that cultural, religious, gender and socio-economic
circumstances of youth have enabled their positive contribution to the
formulation, implementation and evaluation of development initiatives and
strategies. Youths capacity and commitment to their development at
various levels of the community is a vital pillar in current and future
development;

Affirm that the promotion of meaningful participation and development of
young people is a challenge in Fiji that needs to be addressed along with the
priority areas of the National Youth Policy;

Reaffirm the importance of integrated approaches by all actors to
strengthen and establish initiatives and strategies to implement priority
areas of the National Youth Policy;

Call for action that despite the existence of a National Youth Policy and
recognising the significant achievements in the youth and sports sector,
Fijis youth continue to face major challenges which hinder inclusive youth
participation that impedes development of Fijis full potential;

2 | P a g e D R A F T f o r D I S C U S S I O N

Recognize youth as important social actors in Fiji and their willingness to
assume responsibilities in the socio-economic and political agenda in Fiji;

Identify the following priorities for action as agreed to during the
deliberations of the 500 representatives of youth from community, district,
provincial, faith-based organisations, youth-led organisations, development
partners and civil society organisations from Fiji;

Recommendations for Action

Making Healthy Choices

Promote the importance of youth in making healthy choices, maintaining a
healthy lifestyle, to make adolescent and youth friendly services that are
accessible, affordable and ensure quality health including but not limited to
HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases, mental health, drugs and substance
abuse.

Encourage access to sexual and reproductive information and health services
in accordance with agreed international mandates such as the ICPD program
of action.

Safety and Security Considerations

Recognise how youth can participate in ensuring personal, family,
community and national security and safety through the focus areas of
environmental security, job and financial security and water safety. Identify
strategies that involve youth to improve and mitigate risks in these areas
and ensuring youth feel empowered to engage themselves in monitoring and
planning initiatives to this end.

Sports for Development and Inclusiveness

Encourage increased investment in sports and facilities for young people to
participate; noting the important role sports can play in social cohesion,
healthy lifestyle and employment opportunity.

Youth and Human Rights

Call for the urgent need to fulfil youth human rights and responsibilities and
youth right to redress as appropriate to their age.


3 | P a g e D R A F T f o r D I S C U S S I O N



Creating Skilled Leaders

Strengthen efforts to integrate action into curricula for democratic
structures, civil liberties, social leadership, gender equality, peace at all
levels that impart knowledge to match the needs of active citizenship.

Making Ethical Decisions

Urge policy makers to make every effort to establish mechanisms that are
independent and accessible to inform and capacity build young people to
make ethical decisions.

The Way Forward, We Are Committed to:

Taking the priorities identified above we the participants have resolved to:

Ensure all necessary measures are taken to work in partnership with all
stakeholders including young people, civil society, government, donor
agencies and faith-based organisations to implement the priorities identified
in this Suva Declaration.

P a g e | 3Urge all stakeholders to recognise the gaps in implementing the
National Youth Policy and to ensure that all efforts are made between
stakeholders for collaborative approaches to meet mutually desired goals of
the policy.

Call for further support for existing platforms for youth organisations and
consider strategies towards the establishment of mechanisms that allow for,
effective and structured participation of youth and youth organisations in
appropriate decision making processes.