Young Pacific Leaders Regional Workshop on Security

The U.S. Embassy New Zealand Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to develop and implement a Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) Regional Workshop on Security sometime between July-October 2025 to provide emerging Pacific leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to become leaders in security, pending the availability of funding. The Conference should preferably take part in Vanuatu to coincide with or run alongside the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Conference being hosted by Vanuatu in 2025, but may be hosted in other Pacific locations pending logistics and costs. The proposed workshop will focus on building local capacity within Pacific nations to help participants develop intelligence capability to better inform decision makers, increase ability to manage large events and respond to natural disasters, and enhance investigations capability to address the highest regional crime priorities. Workshop sessions should be designed to introduce and operationalize best practices in this space to elevate Pacific regionalism and promote peace, security, and sovereignty in areas such as maritime, cybersecurity, and health. This workshop will bring together practitioners from all levels of society and administration including government, civil society, and experts to discuss challenges, develop action plans, and leverage opportunities for regional collaboration to foster the implementation of security practices. The workshop will ideally be held in Vanuatu.