News
The United States Department of State, in partnership with Cultural Vistas, is now accepting applications from emerging leaders across the Pacific to attend the Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) conference in Fiji in March.
The sixth Young Pacific Leaders Conference in Suva, Fiji will provide Pacific leaders, ages 25-35, with new skills and knowledge to advance the region’s economic vibrancy and civic engagement. The conference will provide informational sessions, skills workshops and site visits to deepen participants’ knowledge and abilities to address issues related to YPL’s four programmatic themes: Education; Environment and Resource Management; Civic Leadership; and Economic and Social Development.
A group of approximately 42 applicants will be selected from across the independent Pacific states, Australia, New Zealand, and the America-affiliated Pacific (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii). Outstanding alumni of previous conferences are also invited to apply to participate in the Conference as mentors. All applications are due by December 2, 2018 and can be completed online.
Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Cultural Vistas at YPL2019@culturalvistas.org for any questions about the program, or to request a fillable PDF version of application if needed. All travel, lodging and meals will be provided to selected participants.
At the conclusion of the conference, all participants will be eligible to compete for small grants to support projects in their countries and the region. In addition, conference participants and the larger YPL community will participate in YPL LEADS, a week-long event highlighting the YPL program through service-related activities in their communities.
About YPL
YPL is a network of emerging indigenous leaders in the Pacific Islands. The program started in 2013 and has held five regional conferences in American Samoa (2013), Independent State of Samoa (2014), Auckland (2015), Honolulu (2016), and Honolulu (2018). In addition, 2018 has seen the launch of the YPL Small Grants Program, providing seed funding to implement 12 innovative projects throughout the Pacific region. The YPL community consists of emerging leaders from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, as well as the America-affiliated Pacific (Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii).
Follow the Young Pacific Leaders on Facebook (@youngpacificleaders), Instagram (@weareyoungpacificleaders), and via the hashtags #YPL and #YoungPacificLeaders.