Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — American Samoa will be represented by Mary Cheung-Fuk at the Young Pacific Leaders Conference, July 18-21 in Hawaii.

Launched in 2013, the Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) is a U.S. government’s signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in the Pacific.

An English Teacher at the Tafuna High School Cheung-Fuk is honored to be selected to the YPL conference, she said in response to questions from Samoa News.

 “The leadership and regional cooperation are essential to our livelihoods as people of the Pacific and for future generations.”

The YPL website says there are a variety of programs and engagements including U.S. educational and cultural exchanges, regional exchanges, and seed funding.

“The YPL seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region and strengthen ties between the United States and the Pacific.

“The YPL focuses on critical topics identified by youth in the region: education, environment and resource management, civic leadership, and economic and social development.”

The YPL statement issued on the nominations says this year marks the eighth year of the YPL Annual Conference which brings together young leaders with the theme — Pacific Engagement 2.0: Carving New Paths for Regional Cooperation.

Through the conference, participants will develop new connections, advance leadership and advocacy skills, and provide participants opportunities to work together to solve regional and global challenges through community service and small grants projects.

Ms Cheung-Fuk says the YPL affords the opportunity to learn from other Pacific delegates.

“Together, we can learn from one another, lend a helping hand, and resolve pertinent issues that affect our region,” she said.

“Through the YPL Conference, I hope to connect with fellow Pacific leaders to learn and share valuable knowledge and resources that will benefit our communities collectively,” she told Samoa News.

BACKGROUND

Alumni Mentors were selected to attend the 2022 Young Pacific Leaders Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, over the dates July 18-21, 2022.

“The leaders were selected from a competitive application process open to applicants ages 25-35 from Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Islands of French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and the American-affiliated Pacific including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii.”  

Cheung-Fuk who is a member the Rotaract Club of Pago Pago; holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Hawaii – Hilo and a Master of Education in Educational Foundations – University of Hawaii – Manoa.