New Caledonia Head of State Harold Martin put pen to paper on the deal yesterday and was joined at the ceremony by Minister for Youth and Sports Jean-Claude Briault, as well as several representatives from OFC, including President David Chung, General Secretary Tai Nicholas and Head of Social Responsibility and International Relations Franck Castillo, who also acts as the PYASC chief executive.
The next edition of the PYASC will be held in Noumea in December 2013 and is being organised and staged in a joint effort by OFC, the New Caledonia government and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), an inter-governmental organisation based in Noumea that works towards improving the lives of Pacific Island people.
The freshly-penned agreement pledges the financial support of the New Caledonia government to the tune of 35 million XPF (approx. 470,000 NZD) and means the necessary planning, which is already well underway, can continue over the coming months.
“We are pleased that the New Caledonia government has agreed to show its support for the PYASC and are looking forward to working closely with both them and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community to ensure the event is successfully staged,” President Chung says.
“There are many issues that are affecting our youth today. Non-communicable diseases have reached epidemic proportions in the Pacific and school dropouts and illiteracy continue to rise, while more can be done to recognise women and the disabled in our communities. The PYASC will play a key role in using the medium of sport as a tool to tackle the issues facing our youth in the Pacific and improve their lives.”
The PYASC brings together participants aged 16 to 25 years old from 25 different Pacific countries and provides the chance to discuss sport for development, as well as fostering relationships between youth organisations, sporting bodies, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and other partners.
The ultimate goal of the conference is to improve the lives of young people in the Pacific through sport.
The inaugural edition of the PYASC took place in March 2010 in Manukau, New Zealand, and resulted in the granting of funds to 14 projects that have since been implemented across the Pacific, the progress of which will be presented at the second conference.
The second edition has been penciled in for December 2 to 7 of next year and will be held at the Cultural and Sport Centre of Paita while the 1,000 participants will be accommodated at the University of New Caledonia campus.
The 2013 PYASC will be organised around three central themes – health, education and capacity building, and social inclusion.

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