Youth

In introducing the new categories Pacific Dawn and Pacific Pearl, SPTO Chief Executive Officer Chris Cocker said: “SPTO considers Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as important members because they make the bulk of our regional tourism industry and are responsible for driving economic growth in Pacific Island Countries. On the other hand, our youth and young professionals are the future tourism leaders of the region.”

The illusive artist who goes by the name Koven has been writing his tag on structures and walls around the city since the mid 2000s.

He is perhaps one of the city's most recognised writers due to some audacious roll-ups (graffiti painted up high on buildings, often with rollers).

In more recent years, however, his tag has appeared in small stickers placed on street lights, stobie polls, poster walls and pubs.

Working on these painted superhero masks is 16-year-old Ray Mudjandi.

"I make Ikon Bininj," Ray said.

Bininj is the Kunwinjku word for man in Ray's community of Jabiru, a slowing mining town set amidst a World Heritage-listed park with cave paintings more than 20,000 years old.

Ray is from the Western Arrernte clan and has loved cartoons, video games, Marvel comics, and characters like Superman since childhood.

The president of Vanuatu Youth Against Corruption, Priscilla Meto, told our correspondent more than 70 per cent of people who turned 18 after the last election in 2012 will be unable to vote on Friday.

She says more than 3,000 young people haven't been able to enrol and will have to wait until 2020 to be heard.

She says this is because the nature of the snap election means the Electoral Commission has been unable to issue new electoral cards to many of those people.

Ms Meto says this is unfair as it means more than 3,000 young people will not be able to exercise their right to vote, and will have to wait until 2020 to be heard.

Diabetes Fiji will host youths from Tuvalu, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Its project manager Viliame Qio says the first-of-its-kind event will train participants in how to lead diabetes associations and help others with the disease in their countries.

He says part of the conference involves a health camp, where participants will meet with doctors and learn more about food, oral care and eye health.

The Director-General of the Pacific Community, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, has warned that failing to invest sufficiently in youth will come at substantial economic, social and political costs to the region.

The United Nation Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth is alarmed at the rate of unemployment in the Pacific region.

Ahamad Alhendawi told the High Level Dialogue on Youth at the Pacific Community (SPC) Conference in Alofi, Niue that 23 percent of young people in this region are unemployed.

“National youth unemployment rates in some countries of the region stand at 50 or 60%.