PR - Youth Fest 2017

It is with much honour and excitement that we announce a successful Youth Fest 2017 executed by ACT: Fiji in collaboration with Fiji National University (FNU) & Fiji School of Medicine (FSM) student association and World Peace Initiative (WPI).

Youth Fest 2017 had five major events take place through out the week in the lead up to International Youth Day (IYD) on 12 August.

The theme for  IYD 2017 was Youth Building Peace therefore we started the week by commemorating the 72nd Hiroshima Peace event. With assistance from Japan Pacific Alumni Association (JPAA) the event was organized at the Japan Pacific ICT theatre at USP. Speakers at the event shared on Peace and role of youth in achieving Peace, personal experiences as they visited Hiroshima in Japan and shared more about the Nuclear blast that happened in 1945, followed by a meditation session.

The Thoughts Aloud programme took place on Thursday at the FSM Pasifika campus and saw performers share spoken words, poetry and songs. The theme included; gender equality, environment, human rights, rape, personal choices, sexual orientation, mental health and technology.

Friday was the Lunch Box event whereby the group shared lunch packs (food, fruit and water) with the less fortunate on the streets of Suva. Donations were received from the University of the South Pacific (USP) Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE), Research Innovation and International (RI&I), Department of Development, marketing, communications and alumni (DMCA) and contributions from ACT: Fiji members and friends.

The week concluded with the Youth Advocacy Workshop held at the FSM Pasifika Campus from 9am - 3pm. The sessions included; Theatre for advocacy, Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Social Issues and using creative ideas to advocate on these issues. The sessions were very interactive and as feedback participants shared that they enjoyed the sessions very much.
"I have attended many workshops but never an Advocacy workshop." shared one participant.
We are in discussions to host similar workshops with other organizations that were represented at the workshop. This was not only an opportunity for the ACT team to share creative arts for advocacy but also network with other groups for future collaboration.
Later that evening was the Mai Talanoa panel discussion.
Mr. Elvis Kumar was named as the Youth of Honour for his work in the area of Peace.
The speakers on the two panels shared on; Youth and Education; Mental Health (and suicide prevention); Peace; Environment and Climate Change; International Youth Engagement and Youth volunteering and Artivism. The discussions were rich and the networking opportunity was a great one.

Elvis Kumar, Liesl Low, Elisha Bano, Erna T, Salman Raza. 

We hope to engage in more projects through these collaborations and networking.

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