7 Jul 2014

Youth-specific development goal urged in Pacific

2:41 pm on 7 July 2014

The United Nations Population Fund is calling for young people in the Pacific to join a worldwide campaign to push for a youth-specific development goal in the post-2015 agenda.

The "selfie" campaign encourages youth to take photos of themselves and upload them to a UNFPA social media site to show decision-makers they want a voice.

Its Pacific director, Laurent Zessler, says of the eight millennium development goals, none focus on youth.

Dr Zessler says issues like youth employment, access to education and health services should feature prominently post-2015.

"You're a young person in a remote island in the Pacific, how can you express yourself, how can you say to global leaders I want to be considered as well. So the selfies is a way. We want the young people to be in the picture when we are talking about their future, and also their commitment to development issues."

The UNFPA Pacific director, Laurent Zessler.