Youth from around the Pacific region are being encouraged to capture images of the effects of corruption and to enter the images in a photo contest that could win them an all-expenses paid trip to Fiji to attend the Pacific Youth against Corruption Forum in February 2015.
The photo contest is one of the activities initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the Pacific Youth Forum as a build up to the inaugural Youth Forum to be held in Nadi, Fiji from 22 – 24February 2015.
The photo contest is already generating interest in different countries in the region, with the organizers keen to encourage more youth from the region to share their visual interpretations and images of the phenomenon of corruption.
UNODC Specialist Annika Wythes says that “through engaging in the contest, we expect young people to start to become more engaged in the fight against corruption and we are asking them to upload on Facebook an image that best captures corruption in their community or nation.
“We will review all the entries after the closing date on 30 January and select three winners who will all be able to participate at the Youth Forum in Nadi” she added.
“We really want to encourage young people to participate in the contest and be part of the Pacific youth voice against corruption” noted Peter Batchelor, Manager of the UNDP Pacific Centre.
The contest is open to youth between the ages of 15 to 30 and will be run from the Pacific Youth Council Facebook page.
UNDP and UNODC are supporting the voices of young and marginalized people around the region who are speaking out against corruption and its corrosive effects on society. The support is being provided under the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption project (UN-PRAC), which is a four-year initiative funded by the Australian Government.
The Forum is a unique event that will bring together 45 young Pacific leaders between the ages of 18- to 25-year-olds to examine possible ways to address corruption.
Participating countries include: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands; Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
MEDIA RELEASE.