ONE of the new Non-Government Organisations (NGO), Youth Workers Association of Solomon Islands (YWASI) was launched on Sunday in Honiara.
Permanent Secretary (PS) for the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affaires (MWYCFA) Dr. Cendric Alependava launched the association.
Vice Chairman of YWASI Joe Billy Oge in his background speech said the national government of Solomon Islands recognise the association.
“The role of YWASI is now being integrated into the three tiers of the policy of the Solomon Islands National Government and the policy frame work and the youth development program and the empowerment of Solomon Islands.
“You will see that youth workers are stipulated as important stakeholders in the national youth policy.
“The ministry has allocated some small grants to YWASI as we started to formalise they have given us some $50,000 per year to help established the youth workers association SI.
“So you can see that we have a relationship with the government and it recognises us for that, but the difference their mandate and that over us we are a non-government organisation,” he said.
He added that at this point in time they are place with the youth development division in the ministry but they have the responsibilities to work with them to establish YWASI so that it will look after it affaires in the future.
YWASI was set up in 2012.
Since 2012 until the launching was a great hard work, other people who involve in laying YWASI had passed on while others went to other places to do other work.
“We were told that professional workers with young people arise in the 1970’s and in the 1980’s.
“So there were discussions among workers who work in the youth affaires sectors regarding the need to establish a professional association but there was no formal record of discussion.
“However, in November 2012 the combine world youth program through the Commonwealth Youth Program (CYP) initiated a workshop to professionalise youth work in Solomon Islands.
“And at that meeting they brought together youth stakeholders and they agreed to establish a steering committee task with a role to develop a concept paper regarding the youth workers in SI.
“Eleven (11) members stirring committee was set up and they met many times over the next period from 2012 up until today in fact we lost some of them on the way as the lord has called them already to rest and others have moved to work in other places,” he said.
Oge acknowledges those who passed on and others who are moving to other places to do other work for contributing towards the formation and establishment of the association.
“I would like to acknowledge them for their work,” he said.
In fact the active formation of YWASI started with some activities since 2013 up until now.
“I remember us lobbying to the government for the national youth workers award to be included in the awards in the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA).
“So in 2015 and 2016 we have now youth workers that were included in the national award.
“The lobbying has been succeeded with the work of youth workers in SI.
“The most recent one is the policy in 2017 when we reviewed the youth policy we want to put the voice of youth workers into the policy as well so you will notice we now given the standing to today because of that lobbying that we had with the government,” he said.
YWASI focus on young people but more specifically on youth workers.
YWASI’s slogan is ‘Building partnership with and for young people.’
By LACHLAN EDDIE
Honiara, Newsroom
