Chris Armstrong arrived at UNFPA following a four year stint with the Canadian government working in Tanzania on health and HIV/AIDS including with young people before relocating to the UNFPA Pacific Sub-Regional Office in October 2012.
Armstrong is the UNFPA’s Youth and HIV advisor. UNFPA will be very active at PYASC as both a guest speaker on the subject of Sexual and Reproductive health, including issues of HIV and teenage pregnancy, as well as organizing workshops to help young people become more engaged in these issues.
Having spent a year in the Oceania region, Armstrong reveals his hopes for PYASC, scheduled for December 2-7, 2013, in Noumea, New Caledonia.
“After a year in the Pacific I enjoy it, I think the region has fantastic cultures, a laidback atmosphere, with a strong focus on culture and family. The engagement of young people is really good, the energy of young people is great. I’ve been energised by it and have appreciate the opportunity to work with young people,” Armstrong says.
“Young people are important to UNFPA, it’s a group we focus on and PYASC is a great way to work with young people around the topic of sexual and reproductive health.
“Connecting these subjects with something young people love like sport or football, something they are so involved in, makes obvious sense,” he says.
UNFPA is booked as a speaker alongside a raft of compelling figures from the academic and sporting world including former All Black Tana Umaga and two-times UEFA Champions League winner and FIFA World Cup winner, Christian Karembeu.
Other subjects ready to be tackled at PYASC include substance abuse, mental health and suicide prevention, youth unemployment and gender equality.
Armstrong believes the youth of the Pacific are ready to be energised by what they will hear in Noumea in December.
“As an Youth and HIV advisor making sure young people have the skills and knowledge to protect themselves from HIV and STIs and have access to health services, and family planning is vital.
“There are cultural challenges – religion, culture and taboos associated with sex and reproduction as well as population dynamics, all these play into what we do, but we have good partners we work through, Non-Government Organisations, Government Organisations and youth groups,” he says.
Armstrong says there are many significant issues in the Pacific such as teen pregnancy, which is quite high in a number of Pacific countries, higher than the world average in some places.
He says PYASC presents a wonderful opportunity to educate and grow future advocates for HIV and STI awareness.
“The more you can use things young people are involved in, that are relevant to them, the better.
“Bringing young people together with sport at PYASC is a great opportunity – I’m looking forward to it,” he says.
With the countdown to PYASC 2013 now on, Armstrong believes the participants have a wonderful chance to build a better Pacific.
“I hope participants will go away from PYASC having learned from each other, generating new ideas, more energised and more engaged, built good networks across the Pacific, and working more effectively together.
“I also hope we have more advocates for sexual health issues and develop creative ideas to engage more young people, and talk about these issues constructively into the future,” he says.
The Pacific Youth and Sports Conference (PYASC) aims to address significant social issues facing young Pacific Islanders. It is a tool for youth to develop and pursue social projects in their communities.”
The New Caledonia Government, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the Oceania Football Confederation joined forces to host the Pacific Youth and Sports Conference in Noumea, New Caledonia, December 2-7, 2013.
The aim is to gather around 1,000 young people from sport and youth organisations, governments and international institutions from the Pacific region to exchange experiences, encourage debate and discuss potential new ideas.