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Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia ora, Kia orana, Malo e lelei, Ni sa bula, Taloha ni, Talofa lava, Halo olaketa & Greetings
The F.I.R.S.T. Foundation would like to warmly welcome you to the 2006 Young Pacific Leaders Conference being held in Wellington on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th October 2006.
Within the space of one or two
generations, the population of Pacific people in New Zealand has grown to over
200,000 and undergone a very rapid transformation from isolated agrarian,
subsistence-level communities in the island Pacific to a predominantly urban,
wage-based society not fully integrated into national life, with a significant
proportion of its membership not fully connected to their ancestral roots, and
with a sense of marginalisation from wider Pakeha-led society. That these
social, economic and cultural issues will resolve themselves without planning
and direct intervention is unlikely.
In bringing young Pacific leaders
together, the conference will encourage the discussion of common issues facing
them. Such discussions will not only promote understanding necessary to a
solution, but also establish personal contacts between Pacific communities and
in varied socio-economic circumstances. This is expected to facilitate
cooperation towards future effective action.
The proposed YPLC, by promoting
leadership skills amongst young people and encouraging the inter-generational
transfer of leadership skills, will by its very nature, address many of the
issues associated with community capacity building, a major programme in the
Government's pacific and ethnic affairs policies.
REGISTRATIONS are now open