60 \ Global Youth Development Index and Report 2016 Challenges and opportunities for youth development in Pacific Small Island Developing States Dr Colin Tukuitonga Director General, Pacific Community ‘We are not drowning, we are fighting.’ Such is the voice of young people from Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), who see themselves not as victims, but rather as warriors standing up peacefully to the adversary that is climate change.7 Their islands face the brunt of climate change impacts such as sea-level rise, extreme weather events and ocean acidification. In the Pacific region, young people also experience many other development challenges that are unique to the nature of SIDS, as outlined in the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway.8 The Pacific Youth Development Framework9 identifies Pacific youth’s own priorities, including education and employment, health, governance and participation, and engagement in environmental action. Their priorities align broadly with those of global frameworks such as the YDI and WPAY, but with an emphasis on the Pacific context, highlighting the special case for this region. With little change in the status of Pacific youth over the last ten years,10 the region is confronted by a pressing need to invest in youth: Without major investment in young people, they may well flounder as a generation, undermining the capacity of Pacific Island countries and territories to escape aid dependence, develop economically and, in some cases, even survive as viable societies.11 In small economies, although youth issues may be well recognised, they do not feature highly when resources are allocated. In addition to competing priorities, there is a lack of accurate data and analysis in critical areas such as youth employment. For example, three Pacific Island countries have inadequate data for YDI calculations. Understanding the picture of inequity is a key challenge for small administrations with limited capacity to collect data, and the available data reveal that a concerning proportion of young people are marginalised from mainstream development efforts. In Kiribati, 58 per cent of young men aged 20−24 years are not engaged in productive activities.12 Key youth populations marginalised from mainstream efforts include: young people who are NEET; young women; rural youth; young people with disabilities; and youth who face discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. Little systematic engagement of youth, and marginalisation of some groups, leads to youth disenfranchisement and negative consequences.13 Targeted investment in youth development issues, particularly for marginalised populations, will benefit Pacific communities as a whole. The region’s vulnerability to increasingly devastating natural disasters and the significance of climate change in all development issues open up opportunities for youth leadership and increased investment in their development. As the population group that will be most affected by the impacts of climate change, young people in the Pacific have taken an active and effective role in leading climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives in the Pacific Islands region, using Pacific cultural knowledge and skills to advocate high-ambition targets for countries worldwide to strive for. Well-established youth networks in environmental conservation, youth and agriculture, and climate change are driving a new narrative for the region, with young people positioning themselves as Pacific Climate Change Warriors. They recognise that their predicament is also a chance to bring Pacific Islanders together to create stronger and healthier villages, cities and communities, while pushing developed nations to expedite the move towards 100 per cent renewable energy,14 given that continued burning of fossil fuels by developed nations is a major contributor to the build-up of greenhouse gases, which are producing climate change. Advancing the status of youth in the Pacific region will require smart investment – strategic and resourceful – to integrate youth outcomes across the development agenda, with services designed to include the most marginalised and to strengthen the ability of SIDS to navigate their own futures. Statistical and analytical evidence, and strategic information to inform decision making, are integral to this journey.