Although youth representatives are permitted to attend community meetings, they tend to leave all decisions to older people because there is a culture of respect for elders and because they lack a vote in community decision-making. They said ‘Youth are the hands and legs of the community – elders are the voice’. If they do try to speak out, they find it difficult to get their message across. Virtually all Tuvaluan young people belong to a youth organisation of some sort, and are entitled to request assistance from the Government’s Youth Office through the National Youth Council, but youth organisations have only limited facilities and budgets. The total budget for the National Youth Council is only $AUD 5,000 a year. The Tuvalu Association for NGOs (TANGO) has received many creative income generating project proposals from youth – piggeries, fisheries, agriculture etc – especially from the outer islands where there are more resources, but TANGO has very limited funding to assist youth. This means it may be difficult or impossible for youth groups to obtain the funding they need to start productive activities. [...]

There are insufficient wage employment opportunities for youth in Tuvalu. Many young people do not aspire to career choices because they do not expect to have a choice. Girls are especially likely to be without ambition. There are no career counselors in schools. Most youth in the outer islands have little opportunity for employment outside agriculture unless they migrate to Funafuti where they face strong competition in the job market. A few fortunate ones may gain admission to the Tuvalu Marine Training Institute in Amatuku, but there are few choices for those who fail to meet admission standards. The recent reduction in the number of Tuvalu Government scholarships for overseas study means still less opportunity to obtain quality education and skills training overseas.