THE message to young people in Navosa was direct during the Navosa Youth Festival – the future of their communities and Fiji will be shaped by the choices they make today.
Speaking at the Navosa Youth Festival, the Minister for Youth and Sports challenged young people to take a stronger role in confronting issues affecting their generation, particularly substance abuse, while also promoting education, sport, skills, family, faith and leadership as pathways towards a healthier future.
“You have to decide what kind of future you want,” Mr Saukuru said.
“You have to decide what kind of Navosa and Nadroga you want to live in. And you have to decide what kind of Fiji you want to inherit and eventually lead.”
The speech placed young people at the centre of the response to some of the country’s most pressing social challenges, urging them not to remain bystanders but to become part of the solution.
A direct challenge to youth
The Minister called on young people to stand up, organise, speak out and lead.
The challenge came with a warning about the growing exposure of young people to drugs and other substances in the country.
“The exposure of our young generation to drugs and other substances is a serious concern,” the Minister said.
“We cannot normalise it. We cannot look away. We cannot say that it is someone else’s problem. It is your problem. It is our problem.”
The Minister urged young people themselves to play a role in preventing substance abuse and resisting social pressures that could make drug use appear acceptable.
“Say no to a culture that tells you that substance abuse is a pathway to popularity or acceptance,” he said.
Instead, young people were encouraged to make choices that could strengthen their futures.
“Choose sport. Choose education. Choose skills, choose your family. Choose your faith. Choose your future.”
Beyond substance abuse
His message extended beyond drugs, recognising that youth development must address several interconnected challenges.
Concerns around HIV and AIDS were also highlighted, with the Minister calling for greater awareness, responsible choices, testing, compassion and an end to stigma.
The speech also placed mental health among the issues requiring more open discussion.
He said some young people were carrying burdens that their families and friends might never see.
“We must speak openly about mental health,” Mr Saukuru said.
“There are young people among us who are struggling silently, some carrying burdens that their families and friends may never see.”
Creating supportive communities, he said, should mean making it easier for young people to ask for help.
“Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of courage,” he said.
Standing against violence
Another key part of the message was the need to stand firmly against violence against women and children.
The Minister said there should be no place for violence or abuse in homes, communities, churches, sporting fields or wider society.
The Minister also challenged young men to rethink traditional ideas about strength.
“Our young men must understand that strength is not demonstrated through violence,” he said.
“Strength is demonstrated through respect, responsibility and self-control.”
At the same time, young women were reminded of their right to dignity, safety and opportunity.
“Our young women must know that they deserve to live with dignity, safety, and opportunity,” the Minister said.
Looking beyond the surface
The Minister also drew attention to young people and other vulnerable members of communities who are experiencing homelessness, addiction or disconnection from their families and society.
His message called for a change in how communities viewed people facing these difficulties.
“When we see a young person sleeping on the street, struggling with addiction, experiencing homelessness, or disconnected from family and society, we must not simply ask, ‘What is wrong with him?’ We must ask, ‘What happened to him or her?’”
That shift, he said, should lead to another question: what can be done to help?
For him, that is central to the meaning of youth development.
“It must mean reaching to those who are hardest to reach,” he said.
“It must mean creating opportunities where there are none. It must mean restoring hope.”
The goal is to give every young person the confidence to believe they have a place in Fiji’s future.
“It must mean giving every young person the chance to say, ‘I have a future, and I have a role to play in building Fiji.’”
Leaders today, not tomorrow
The Minister called on communities to become places where young people feel safe and encouraged government to continue creating policies, programs and partnerships that allow them to thrive.
“To the young people of Navosa, do not underestimate yourselves,” he said.
“You are not merely the leaders of tomorrow. You are leaders today.”
The choices made now, he said, would have consequences far beyond the individual.
“Your choices today will shape your families tomorrow. Your actions today will shape your communities tomorrow. And your leadership today will shape the Fiji we will live in for the next generation.”
The final challenge was simple and repeated for emphasis.
“Stand up. Stand up and be counted.”
But Mr Saukuru’s call was not only for individual action. It was also a call for collective responsibility.
He urged communities to bring together the strengths of youth development, sport, churches and religious organisations around one shared purpose – ensuring young Fijians have opportunities to live healthy, productive, safe and meaningful lives.
Young people are at the centre of the response to some of the country’s most pressing social challenges. They are not to remain bystanders but to become part of the solution. Picture: MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS
The goal is to give every young person the confidence to believe they have a place in Fiji’s future. Picture: MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS
The National Youth Band at the Navosa Youth Festival last week. Picture: ANA MADIGIBULI
