Today, 03 April 2018, Minister for the Council of Ministers Adriano do Nascimento joined representatives from UNDP and Flinders University and local youth groups to launch the Timor-Leste National Human Development Report at Dili Convention Centre.

The report is the outcome of a two-year collaboration between the UNDP, the Government of Timor-Leste and Flinders University, Australia and aims to promote public discussion and policy making around investing in youth and their well-being to benefit from a potential demographic dividend.

The report measures the subjective well-being of youth aged 15-34 across eight aspects of well-being based on a nationwide survey. Promisingly, it finds that three quarters of youth across Timor-Leste perceive themselves as leading healthy and satisfactory lives overall, however, it also finds that more than 80 percent experience deprivations in education and community vitality.

Adriano do Nascimento said: “This is a report which the leaders of Timor-Leste need to give their full attention.

“The majority of the population are youth and youth have an important role to play in the process of the development of the country. It is the role of youth to maintain peace, stability and democracy.”

Mr. Roy Trivedy, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative said: “This relatively young population offers the manpower, dynamism and energy for the potential transformation of this young nation.

“For this potential to be realised, however, there is a lot to be achieved in the areas of education, job creation, skills development and financial inclusion of youth.”

The report recommends allocating 25 per cent of the state budget to education and training and calls for several reforms to achieve better quality education and the transformation of economically inactive youth into entrepreneurs in agriculture, tourism and other sectors of the economy that show potential for growth.

Mr. Udoy Saikia, lead author of the report and Flinders University Representative said: “This report is a wonderful outcome of a very collaborative process and support from the Government of Timor-Leste has been crucial.”

French-Timorese alpine skier Yohan Goutt Goncalves who in 2014 became the first ever athlete from Timor-Leste to qualify for the Winter Olympics called on youth to volunteer or enroll internship programmes, as well as explore opportunities to become entrepreneurs in areas such as agriculture, tourism, fishing, waste management and community health.