Moeloto Tuilaepa Tiatia of Samoa has been elected to the Commonwealth Youth Council executive board ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa.
She emerged as Pacific representative after a keenly contested election in which 48 candidates vied for 10 seats on the council.
The election process concluded on 18 September 2024 with keen participation from youth delegates across the 56 Commonwealth member countries.
This year’s elections take on special significance as the Commonwealth Youth Council celebrates ten years of advancing the youth development agenda and steps up youth participation at all levels of decision-making.
The elected candidates include:
1.Chairperson: Joshua Opey, Ghana
2.Vice Chairperson, Policy and Advocacy: Falit Sijariya, India
3.Vice Chairperson, Inclusion and Engagement: Neema Sheikh Abdikadir, Kenya
4.Vice Chairperson, Partnerships and Resources: Gurdit Singh Vohra, India
Representatives:
5.Africa: Rosy Schaneck, Namibia
6.Asia: Muskaan Anand, India
7.Caribbean: Amanda Jessica Slew, Jamaica
8.Europe and Canada: Eunice Oladejo, Canada
9.Pacific: Moeloto Tuilaepa Tiatia, Samoa
10.Representative, Special Interest Groups: Farhana Jan, India
The candidates will serve from 2024 to 2026 and will lead inclusive consultations, projects, and events to voice young people’s concerns and shape youth development policies. The final election results and information about the newly elected executives will be shared on the Your Commonwealth website.
The candidates will be officially installed at a special ceremony during the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) 2024 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October.
The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) is the official representative voice of the more than 1.5 billion young people in the Commonwealth, 60 percent of whom are under the age of 30.
The CYC was first established in 2013 with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Commonwealth Youth Programme. The Commonwealth Heads of Government endorsed the CYC as an autonomous, youth-led organisation at the CHOGM summit in Sri Lanka.