The Office of the Legislative Assembly hosted its Youth Parliamentary Programme on Tuesday after a two-year absence, giving young Samoans insights on how the parliamentary process works.

The programme coincided with the convening of the Legislative Assembly with the Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and her predecessor now opposition leader Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi invited to participate as the guest speakers.

When the XVII Parliament convened, over a hundred participants in the programme had the opportunity to listen and observe the proceedings.

The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Leatisā Utimē Tala, said the youth programme provided the young people the opportunity to learn about parliament and encouraged participation in the law-making process.

"We've had this programme running for some time but it was put on hold because of the restrictions and orders for the pandemic," Leatisā said in an interview with the Samoa Observer.

“One area which needed improvement was the relationship between the Members of Parliament and members of the public. 

“A lot of people think that their job is done after the election and after they have voted.

“Moreover, we noticed that a lot of people do not know that they have a role to play in parliamentary procedures. 

“They are also unaware of their rights to contribute to the decision making of this country and the formulation of laws and legislations – not just the Members of Parliament.”

The last time the Office of the Legislative Assembly hosted the event was prior to the measles epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the event for two years in a row.

Leatisā said the goal of the programme is to give young people access to knowledge on how the parliament works and appreciate its roles and functions.

"That's the whole purpose of this programme. We give them an insight of how parliament procedures are done and offer them the opportunity to ask questions on anything they want to understand about the different roles and functions of parliament in Samoa."

A total of 120 to 150 students participated in the programme with Leatisā indicating that the different divisions within the Office had different presentations.

"We also invited the Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa and the Leader of the Opposition party, Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi as our guest speakers so they can share their experiences and knowledge with our participants,” he added.

Ultimately the programme is educational to make young people aware of the role of the parliament with Leatisā saying the youth could grow up to become leaders one day.

“So this is the right time for them to understand these things and to know better about how parliament operates,” he said.

"We hope that through this initiative, they will know that they can contribute by voicing their opinions on different laws and legislations and have a better understanding of the procedures in place for a law to be passed in the House of parliament.

"Some of our citizens do not know that they can contribute when we invite them for public consultations as they think that it's only for Members of Parliament.

"So moving forward, we hope that when we do invite members of the public to come for consultations on whatever bills proposed by any Government, we would like to see more of our youths and citizens be engaged in our law making process.”

The programme will culminate in a mock Parliament where all participants will engage in discussions.