Papuan Youth Represents Indonesia In Y7 Summit 2023

Angel Fonataba from Manokwari in Papua was one of the five observers from Indonesia who was selected by the Indonesia Youth Diplomacy to attend the Y7 Summit 2023.

The Summit was held in Japan from 9 - 13 April 2023. Fonataba said that even though the observers were not allowed to intervene during the Summit and negotiation process, they were given the opportunity to provide their insight and advice on the 5 agendas.

“Some of the topics that were discussed in the Summit are similar to the topics that were discussed in the Y20 Indonesia Conference last year. So, I was able to contribute to the discussion in the Summit by providing solutions to similar problems that are faced in Indonesia,” she said.

The main agenda of the Summit are Economic Resilience, Digital Innovation and Transformation, Climate and Environment, Global Health and Happiness, and Peace and Security.

The Summit delegates exchanged ideas about possible policy recommendations for each agenda then presented a final paper is to be submitted to the Government of Japan and G7 leaders.

Earlier this year, the Indonesian Government built a facility in Jayapura called the Papua Youth Creative Hub. The Creative Hub is a facility that can be used by youths such as Fonataba to harness their talents, connect with other Papuan youths and to use as a space to brainstorm ways to develop economic policies for the betterment of Papua.

Fonataba graduated with her Bachelors in Business Administration and International Business from the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Germany. She also completed her Masters in International Business at the HULT International Business School in Dubai.

Angel Berlian with two Japanese high school students presenting on Cybersecurity and Safe Internet Use

About the Y7 Summit

The Y7 Summit 2023 Japan was held along with the G & Hiroshima Summit in Japan. G7 has established official engagement groups in order to incorporate opinions from various stakeholders, such as Business 7 (B7), Civil 7 (C7), and Women 7 (W7).

Since its establishment, Youth 7 (Y7) has been a unique opportunity for young people to submit policy proposals to decision makers. Y7 annually meets before the G7 Leaders’ Summit and discusses policy proposals and submit the outcome document as a Y7 communiqué. In many years, the Y7 communiqué was drawn and incorporated into the G7 Leaders’

declarations.

For example, the G7 Charlevoix Summit Communiqué in 2018 took some wordings from the Y7 communiqué. Some host countries of G7 invited those youth delegates to have a discussion with the head of states in the past years as well.

Y7 delegates had a discussion with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2021. Y7 is organized by either the G7 host government or a youth organization designated by the G7 host country.

Y7 Summit 2023 Japan will be organized by G7/G20 Youth Japan, a non- profit organization designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Y7 Japan is committed to deliver youth opinion to the society and government of G7 countries, and to work for all delegates from G7 countries and all youth in the G7 countries.

Source: MONICA AGUILAR

• Monica Aguilar is a lawyer by profession and a former journalist.