PICRC Communications and Outreach officer, Masasinge Tellei Hideos, attends 2022 Young Pacific Leaders Program in Honolulu

From November 28-30, PICRC communications and outreach officer Masasinge “Singe” Tellei Hideos attended the 2022 Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) Program on Marine Sustainability in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is a youth leadership development program organized by the U.S. Department of State.

The YPL community consists of young leaders, aged 25-35 years old, from throughout the Pacific. The program started in 2013 and has over 150 alumni. It focuses on four themes that the Pacific youth identified as their top priorities: Education, Environmental and Resource Management, Civic Leadership, and Economic and Social Development. YPL aims to strengthen linkages between emerging leaders across the Pacific and the United States.

While in Honolulu, Singe visited the U.S. Coast Guard Base Honolulu, NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center, the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. He heard from representatives from the Consulate of Australia, the Consulate of the Republic of Korea, and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. Each representative talked about their nation’s ties to their neighbors in Oceania as well as how actors in East Asia and the Pacific Islands might use these ties to address shared challenges. Finally, he heard from experts from the Pacific Islands Development Program, the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, Kewalo Marine Laboratory, and Nā Maka Onaona.

In responding to the program, Mr. Hideos stated, “This was a great learning experience for me and it will help me continue to grow to become a better communications and outreach officer and a youth leader.”

“We are proud of our staff Singe on his selection to join other young Pacific leaders in this program. This was a competitive program with hundreds of applicants from all over the Pacific and Singe was among the 30 young leaders selected to attend this program, stated Dr. Yimnang Golbuu, CEO of PICRC.