National Youth Development Authority

28/05/2026

THE MOMENTUM IS BUILDING!

Milne Bay Province is now the 7th Province to complete the NYES Socialization Program — and the energy across Papua New Guinea is only growing stronger!

From 25th–27th May 2026, leaders, stakeholders, and youth representatives gathered at Alotau Bay Resort for three impactful days of dialogue, planning, and commitment toward transforming youth engagement in the province.

High-level presence from the Provincial Administrator, Alotau District Administrator, and Alotau Urban Town Mayor underscored the serious leadership support now backing NYES nationwide.

Key outcomes from the program:
✅ Alotau District officially identified as the Pilot District covering Alotau Urban LLG and Huhu Rural LLG
✅ Signing of the Joint Inception Implementation Plan (JIIP) and the Joint Action Collaborative Framework
✅ Official launch of the NYES Online Youth Registration System — with officers ready to begin registrations next week!

One Pastor captured it best, describing NYES as a "Biblical Ark"— a vessel of hope guiding the next generation of PNG leaders.

📍 7 Provinces down. The movement is growing.

Which province will be next?

28/05/2026

Milne Bay Province is now officially on board!

As the 7th province to sign an agreement with the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA), the youth engagement initiative will be piloted through the Alotau Urban and Huhu Local Level Governments.

During their visit to Alotau this week, the NYDA team also held consultations with youth groups and key stakeholders to develop a draft PEC Submission — a step toward shaping stronger policy direction for the rollout of the National Youth Engagement Strategy across the province.

📖 Read more: https://www.nbc.com.pg/post/36194/milne-bay-signs-national-youth-engagement-initiative

Milne Bay is the 7th province to sign an agreement with the National Youth Development Authority under their youth engagement initiative to be piloted by the Alotau Urban and Huhu Local Level Government.

NYDA was in Alotau this week where they also consulted youth groups and stakeholders to come up with a draft PEC Submission for further policy directives to compliment the rollout of the National Youth Engagement Strategy in the province.

Read more: https://www.nbc.com.pg/post/36194/milne-bay-signs-national-youth-engagement-initiative

06/05/2026

For immediate Release.

NYDA Backs New Policy to Empower Women and Youth in Agriculture:

KOKOPO, 7 May 2026 — The National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) has reaffirmed its commitment to tackling rural youth unemployment through agriculture, following its participation in a key regional policy workshop this week.

The NYDA Policy team attended the NGI Regional Consultation on the National Women and Youth in Agriculture Policy Formulation Workshop, held from 5–6 May 2026 in Kokopo, East New Britain Province.

The consultation is part of a joint initiative by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the EU-STREIT PNG Country Programme.

The workshop aims to formulate Papua New Guinea's first dedicated policy to empower women and youth in agriculture. This aligns with the National Government's directive to modernise the agriculture sector by increasing production, promoting downstream processing, and adding value to agricultural commodities.

During the consultation, NYDA presented on "Youth Engagement in Agricultural Value Chains," outlining both challenges and opportunities for young people in the sector. The Authority noted that agriculture remains the most viable pathway for engaging disengaged youth in rural settings. However, young people continue to face distinct barriers, including limited access to land, finance and start-up capital, technology, climate-related impacts, and restrictive cultural norms.

As each region presents different crops, land systems, and market conditions, youth challenges are not one-size-fits-all and require targeted, localised solutions.

NYDA called for stronger government and stakeholder coordination to support youth agribusiness — specifically through funding at the District and Local Level Government (LLG) levels, strengthened partnerships, and improved access to credit and markets.

The Authority linked its recommendations to the National Youth Engagement Strategy 2025–2029 (NYES), which seeks to establish institutional mechanisms and clear pathways in every province to address youth unemployment.

NYDA looks forward to collaborating with DAL across three priority areas: Institutional Support and Mobilisation, Sectoral Pathway Support Facilities, and Youth Mainstreaming through Reforms — efforts intended to create sustainable pathways to youth empowerment in agriculture across the country.

# # # ENDS # # #

📸 Caption 1: Group photo of key NGI regional stakeholders; farmers, FAO - UN, DAL, EU-STREIT and NYDA representatives.

📸 Caption 2: NYDA representative presented on "Youth Engagement in Agricultural Value Chains".



Department of Agriculture & Livestock News
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
EU-STREIT PNG programme

05/05/2026

A nationwide youth engagement program has begun in New Ireland, linking out-of-school youths to employment pathways in agriculture, fisheries, and small business. Led by the National Youth Development Authority with key industry partners, the initiative focuses on registration, training, and job opportunities.

A Joint Engagement Plan aims to create structured pathways into key sectors, with e-registration already underway in Namatanai and Tikana. Targeting over 20,000 youths by 2029, the program supports grassroots development and economic participation.

🙏 Acknowledgement to PNG Sun for sharing this story.

26/04/2026

PRESS RELEASE | YOUTH ENGAGEMENT COMMENCES IN NEW IRELAND

23 April 2026 – Kavieng, New Ireland Province

History was made today for New Ireland youths!

The New Ireland Administration, National Youth Development Authority, Kokonut Industri Koporation, Oil Palm Industry Corporation, and Cocoa Board have officially signed a Joint Engagement Plan to unlock opportunities for our out-of-school youths. This landmark tripartite agreement paves the way for thousands of young people to enter industry pathways right here in the province.

*What does this mean for our youths?*
1. Registration now open for out-of-school youths
2. Direct links to training + support in cocoa, copra, oil palm, fisheries, and small-scale business.
3. A real chance to move from the sidelines into mainstream development

The signing was witnessed by LLG Presidents, LLG Managers, Women Representatives, and youth leaders — all pledging full support. E-registration has already started in Namatanai LLG and Tikana LLG with strong interest in cocoa, coconut, small fisheries, and informal markets.

Acting Provincial Administrator, Ricky Fugunto said, “This PEC-backed initiative will unlock the vast youth energy and potential that has been underutilised for too long.”

NYDA Director General, Joe Itaki said, “Youths are the future of our province. We must invest in them now. We can’t continue to stigmatise them, we must guide them into industry pathways that harness their full potential.”

This program supports the National Youth Engagement Strategy 2025-29. New Ireland is targeting 20,832 youths engaged by 2029, with 500 youths per LLG annually becoming cocoa growers, coconut producers, livestock farmers, and informal sector vendors.

The National Fisheries Authority and other industries are expected to join in the coming months.

This is youth development done at Ward and LLG level — by the people, for the people.

Stay tuned for further updates.

(Note: Pictures reflect both Kavieng and Namatanai engagements)

*

16/04/2026

National Youth Engagement Strategy Progressed in New Ireland Province

The National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) continues to roll out the National Youth Engagement Strategy (NYES) 2025–2029 in New Ireland Province. Following on from the socialization workshop that was held in November 2025, a Joint Inception and Implementation Plan was signed.

Online Youth Registration Training was conducted in Kavieng District from the 13th – 15th April 2026. A total of twenty (20) officers form Kavieng District Administration including the Provincial Administration were trained to do the online youth registration. After the training, the actual registration started of in Tikana LLG, Ward 7 of Kavieng district.

Miss Bird of Paradise Papua New Guinea, Iampela Popena, also joined us during the online registration at Ward 7 of Tinaka LLG of Kavieng district where she spoke about youth and women empowerment.

The Online Youth Registration Training was conducted today (16/04/24) in Namatanai district as well. Discussions were held with the various commodity boards and the Mayor of Kavieng town for priority youth engagement activities that are aligned to the New Ireland Provincial Development Plan and the respective Districts and LLGs Development Plans.

Similar discussions took place with Namatanai District Administration and the President of Namatanai LLG.

The New Ireland Provincial Government successfully endorsed the integration of youth engagement through a Provincial Executive Council (PEC) Decision No 61/2026. This is a significant step forward in building clear pathways for out-of-school youth (ages 15–38) to access social and economic opportunities—right at the ward level.

The official launching of Online Youth Registration and partnership engagement will be launched next week.

Follow this page for more updates.

13/04/2026

The midterm review of the National Youth Policy has commenced. NYDA acknowledges and values the partnership with The Voice Inc through the Open-Government Partnership.



&NYDAPartnership

28/03/2026

PRESS STATEMENT

Youth intervention takes momentum to support more young farmers in East New Britain

March 28, 2026

Kokopo, East New Britain– Out of school youth in Kokopo district in East New Britain will be engaged in cocoa through an existing cocoa rehabilitation program in Bitapaka local level government.

This follows recent signing of a joint inception and implementation plan between the National Youth Development Authority and East New Britian Provincial Administration aimed at enhancing youth development in East New Britain.

From this collaboration, existing cocoa rehabilitation program currently undertaken by the Division of Agriculture and Livestock East New Britain was identified as key intervention point for all parties, including Cocoa Board PNG, Commerce Division, Community Development and National Youth Development Authority.

Through the launch of online youth registration platform by National Youth Development Authority (NYDA), out of school youth from 22 wards in Kokopo and then Gazelle will be mobilized through an online registration process that captures bio data as well as linking them with pathways available in the district.

A total of 16 district community development officers of Kokopo and Gazelle have been inducted into the online youth registration platform and given laptops to start the youth engagement program per district. The tools will help in capturing bio data for youths and link them up with empowerment pathways available per districts.

Director General of National Youth Development Authority, Joe Itaki, said, having real time data to make informed decisions on development priorities is critical to engage young people as well as manage law and order in the district through identifying pathways for peace officers at the village court.

“We want to change the mindset of young people who think farming is for the poor and elderly. Young people have the energy to farm the land, and we want to see this happening in our communities. We note the impeding challenge of potential youth farmers without land and this partnership calls for unlocking land for cocoa and agriculture related activities, providing incentives through financial literacy, banking and potential MSME and SME support.

The East New Britian provincial administrator, Mr Levi Mano, said this is a holistic approach to work with churches and schools and families to advocate and support character building, mentoring of young people through their interest and engage them as responsible citizens.

“This is a significant step after the gun surrender by youth in Kokopo and we want to register and start mobilizing young people to give them dignity and include them in our development priorities,” Mr Mano said.

21/03/2026

A delegation from the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat met in Port Moresby on Thursday, 19 March 2026 with the National Youth Development Authority to reaffirm their commitment on regional cooperation priorities and youth initiatives.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide a platform for dialogue on the proposed institutional arrangements for the MSG Youth Council, strengthen collaboration between regional and national youth governance structures, and ensure that Papua New Guinea’s perspectives are reflected in the development of the regional framework.

The meeting provided an opportunity for in-depth engagement between the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat and the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) on strengthening regional cooperation in youth development and advancing the establishment of the MSG Youth Council.

This consultation further aimed to align national youth priorities with regional strategies, reinforce Papua New Guinea’s leadership role in youth development within the Melanesian sub-region, and contribute to shaping a coordinated and inclusive mechanism for youth participation in regional decision-making processes.

Director General of National Youth Development Authority, Joe Itaki, highlighted that this meeting further signifies the need for an interface through the MSG Youth Council where youth voices across the Melanesian region is elevated, exchange of ideas, information, culture and other initiatives happen.

The Director General noted that Papua New Guinea’s challenge with youth unemployment and social pressures reinforce the importance of a mechanism that could enable sustainable initiatives to thrive with quality of life as key focus.

He added, “This collaboration is part of a wider effort by NYDA with partners to contribute to enable pathways to opportunities for young people. These initiatives extend beyond sports, arts and culture to climate change and digital innovation."

The meeting further reaffirms the importance of a coordinated regional approach to youth development, strengthened institutional linkages, and sustained collaboration between MSG and national youth authorities.

For NYDA, the engagement at the MSG level, and empowerment initiatives inherent at that level will be translated to the District Youth networks via the National Youth Engagement Strategy 2025-2029.

18/03/2026

For our invited stakeholders and partners to takenote of this message.

Thankyou.