CPLP Youth Forum Concludes in Díli

Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and

Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste

 Díli, November 13th, 2015

 CPLP Youth Forum Concludes in Díli

The Youth Forum of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries [CPLP] concluded yesterday on the 12 of November, the National Youth Day of Timor-Leste and a day of commemoration of the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre. The Forum, including representatives of the Youth Councils of CPLP member states from around the globe, began their week of events on Monday when the Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araújo welcomed delegates at a seminar entitled “Youngsters, a new paradigm for a global transformation” held at the Díli Convention Centre.

The Prime Minister encouraged all of the young people gathered to make their voice heard and be active in their communities noting “your participation and entrepreneurial spirit are necessary for making the world a better place in which to live.” He went on to explain “your dynamic of interaction and your energy in face of challenges gives you young people the ability to influence the direction of our countries” and to become a “new paradigm for global transformation.”

Timor-Leste’s National Youth Council, supported by the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sport, took the initiative of organizing this international meeting whose mission was to “maintain and deepen friendship, cooperation, solidarity and intercultural dialogue between Portuguese speaking young people.”

Some of the Timorese programs for youth discussed this week included the Youth Parliament created in 2009, various training initiatives in the field of agriculture and the environment, as well as courses in project management, entrepreneurship and volunteerism provided by the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sports to support small youth cooperatives in a wide range of areas including the construction of sporting facilities and management of community events.

Delegates gathered for their General Statutory Assembly on Tuesday to discuss and revise their statues and approve their articles of Incorporation. During this meeting they developed a position concerning the Post-2015 Development Agenda and shaped an outcome document signed yesterday; the CPLP Youth Forum “Díli Declaration.” Courtesy visits on Wednesday were paid to the Palace of the President of the Republic, Government Palace, National Parliament, Secretariat of State for Youth and Sport, the Headquarters of the National Youth Council of Timor-Leste and the Díli Portuguese School. Delegates also visited the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum.

The Youth Forum concluded with the participation of delegates in the 12th of November Mass for National Youth Day and in memory of the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre, a Long March from Motael Church to the Santa Cruz Cemetery, the official reading and signing of their “Díli Declaration” and a farewell dinner.

Spokesperson for the Sixth Constitutional Government, Minister of State Agio Pereria congratulated the National Youth Council of Timor-Leste and the Secretariat of Youth and Sport for their efforts to ensure a successful CPLP Youth Forum. “The ideas shared and friendships built over these last few days” he said “have the potential to influence a lifetime of positive action. Timor-Leste, he noted, “and all of our CPLP communities need the participation of all, young and old, women and men, those living in the smallest villages to the biggest cities, to contribute to the success and development of our nations. However, Timor-Leste, with over 60% of our people under the age of 25, has a special responsibility to invest in children and young people, who already play a positive part in national development and who will be the ones to take our Nation forward in the years to come.”

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