The inaugural Youth Resource Week has seen an overwhelming response, with thousands of young people in Port Moresby turning up to collect their accreditation passes today 23rd of March at the Sir John Guise Stadium, but this massive turn out forced organizers to extend the pass collection period to Tuesday 25th to accommodate the growing number of attendees.
Currently, 18,000 plus youths have already registered, and the number is expected to reach 20,000 before Tuesday, as registration remains open online until Wednesday. This was confirmed by Ursula Gorea, Youth Resource Week Stakeholder Relations.
And then she explained that the pass collection process has been structured alphabetically to ensure smooth traffic control, with participants from A to J collecting their passes in one area and K to Z in another.
Youth Resource Week is an initiative designed to connect young people with opportunities in education, employment, and skills training. The event is being led by The Event Agency, which is led by the Founding Director Ms. Naarai Banam in response to Prime Minister James Marape’s Campaign, which aims to mobilize youth.
“We are not just handing out flyers,” said Ursula Gorea.
“We are identifying real opportunities and bringing them onto one platform. When young people walk in, they don’t just get information—they sign up for skills training, employment pathways, or volunteer programs that set them up for the future.”
The event is in partnership with the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) and has seen participation from various organizations.
One of the key partners is the DFM Model Agency led by Ms. Leilanie Konjip, which has provided brand ambassadors, many of whom are university students, to assist with accreditation passes and registration.
Corporate entities such as Santos Limited and the BSP Financial Group Limited have also come on board, seeing Youth Resource Week as a strategic opportunity to engage with young people.
The organizers are actively reaching out to more companies, particularly in referral pathways such as second chance education, LMU and MSME to name a few, to further expand job placement and skills training programs.
Despite skepticism from some organizations unfamiliar with the concept, the overwhelming turnout suggests that Youth Resource Week has the potential to become a major annual event.
The initiative was born out of the need to provide solutions for the growing number of disengaged youths following the Black Wednesday unrest early last year.
Seeing the opportunity to help engage the youths, Banam and her team took the initiative to create a structured platform for youth development.
“This is just the beginning,” Ursula stated.
“We may not see the full impact now, but in the next three to five years, Youth Resource Week PNG will transform lives by giving young people real opportunities to build their future.”
As the event continues, organizers remain committed to expanding partnerships with both local and international organizations, ensuring that more young people have access to the resources they need to succeed in life.
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