Celebrating International Youth Day 2025 - Reaching new milestones, voices of our young Pacific Islands people will be reflected in the Global Youth Biodiversity Network with the launch of a new Pacific Chapter. Founded in 2010, the GBYN is a global coalition of young people and youth organisations that act together to lead, support, and accelerate action towards living in harmony with nature.
Our young Pacific Islands voices have been speaking but not heard in a coordinated space, until now with the formal and official membership of the Pacific Chapter coordinated in partnership by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation (PIRT).
“This is a proud moment for us all, as we now have the doors opened for our Pacific Islands youth and their voices to be heard and officially recognised in the global biodiversity space,” said Mr Amena Yavouli, Director of Biodiversity Conservation Programme at SPREP.
“We are excited by the potential ahead as we all strive for a better Pacific islands future for our people. SPREP is honoured to be part of the foundation that empowers and upholds the voices of our Pacific Islands young people as they work to protect our biodiversity.”
The Global Youth Biodiversity Network Pacific Chapter (GYBN Pacific) was born out of a powerful call to action at the 10th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in 2020. It was a call for young Pacific Islanders to have a seat at the table where biodiversity decisions are made.
“Under the GYBN Global umbrella, we have access to information trainings, workshops, related to biodiversity conservation around the globe. Being part of the GYBN Pacific is an excellent chance to meet new people in the region and international with similar ambitions to protect nature,” said Ms Camari Divuniwaqa, the GYBN Pacific coordinator, Fiji.
“It will be an exciting journey as we bring together voices from all around the Pacific to be heard as one, THE PACIFIC VOICE!”
The GYBN is recognised as the international coordination platform for youth participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 2012. As a globally recognised platform, GYBN enables youth to actively engage in biodiversity-related decision-making processes. Committed to biodiversity conservation, GYBN connects youth organisations and individuals worldwide to amplify their voices in biodiversity governance.
“SPREP is proud to be supporting the establishment of the Pacific Chapter of GYBN, which provides a central place for Pacific youth or existing local networks to come together, as a coordinating mechanism to bring on board various partners and organisations supporting youth initiatives or seeking youth engagement,” said Ms Amanda Wheatley, Biodiversity Adviser of SPREP.
"It’s our Pacific space to seek and amplify Pacific youth voices for regional and global decision-making processes aligned to biodiversity.”
In alliance with the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Global, SPREP through the European Union-funded Pacific BioScape Programme, and the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation, the Pacific Chapter vision has come to life as a youth-led initiative bridging young Pacific Island voices from the grassroots to the global stage.
“As the official Pacific chapter of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), we bring together young leaders aged 18–35 from across the Pacific to shape biodiversity policies, lead environmental action, safeguard our unique ecosystems, and celebrate traditional knowledge that has sustained our islands for generations,” said Ms Claire Oiire, the GYBN Pacific coordinator of SPREP.
“This is more than a movement, it’s a generation rising to protect our Pacific heritage.”
The vision of the GBYN Pacific chapter is an empowered Pacific youth to champion biodiversity conservation, integrating traditional knowledge, and promoting inclusive and innovative actions for resilient communities and ecosystems. Its’ mission is to empower Pacific youth through education, leadership, and community engagement in biodiversity conservation, while fostering coordination across Pacific Island nations.
Happy International Youth Day 2025!
More information can be found on the youth page of the PIRT website:
https://www.pacificislandsroundtable.com/pacificislandsroundtable-com-youth or contact [email protected]