The Young People's Project (YPP) was first initiated at the Cultural Centre in 1997 with the assistance of Jean Mitchell, an anthropologist doing research towards her PhD dissertation with young people in the urban settlement of Blacksands. Although a new direction for the Cultural Centre, the project in fact complemented and extended the existing work of the Centre by addressing issues of contemporary youth culture, the beginnings of a new urban culture in Vanuatu and the changing nature of Vanuatu society. The instigation of the YPP at the Cultural Centre also recognised the need for young people to be able to themselves advocate for their own needs and rights and the important role of research as a tool in undertaking such advocacy. This first phase of the project recieved funding support from AUSAID, CUSO, SCFA and UNICEF.
The instigation of the YPP at the Cultural Centre recognised the need for young people to be able to themselves advocate for their own needs and rights and the important role of research as a tool in undertaking such advocacy.
The main aims of the first phase of the YPP were:
- to provide a space where the voices of young people can be heard;
- to research and document some of the issues young people are facing in Vanuatu, as well as their hopes and dreams;
- to try to address some of their needs by direct advocacy, ongoing research, video production, and training workshops and;
- to provide links between young people and organizations offering resources and other help.
The main outputs from this phase of the project included:
- a comprehensive database on young people in Port Vila (including an urban/island youth video archive),
- a comic book
- an hour-long documentary video, Kilim Taem ("Killing Time") depicting life in town and the issues facing young people, and
- the first major report on urban youth in Vanuatu, "Harem Voes Blong Yangfala" or "Young People Speak".
Download the Executive Summary of the first major report on urban youth in Vanuatu, "Young People Speak".
