by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
Birianna Fruean is a sixteen year old female from Samoa.
Young Brianna is an inspiration to many young Pacific youths who voice for climate change and environment issues in and around the Pacific.
Brianna was announced as the first youngest Youth Ambassador for the Secretarial of the Pacific Environment Programme or SPREP. She was the youngest recipient in the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Awards, when she received the Climate Change and Environment Protection Award.
Being the youngest ambassador, she is a proud child to her parents and an inspiration to many youths. The staff of SPREP, who watched Brianna grow as a young advocate since 2008 were very proud as well.
David Sheppard, Director-General of SPREP, said “We are proud to award this role to Brianna who has shown immerse passion and commitment for our environment, she has demonstrated leadership skills having empowered and inspired other Pacific Youth”.
Some of her achievements include, 2009 Regional Climate Change Media Training as a participant; presented in 2011 SPREP Pacific Environment Forum; coordinating a walk for climate change; and also a member of the Pacific Media Team, providing coverage of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil in 2012.
Brianna says everything she learnt about the environment – climate change, biodiversity, wetlands, and mangroves and so on, has all been from what she read and learnt from SPREP, in particular from the Information Resource Centre at the Secretariat.
The SPREP Ambassador Program will roll out this year. The programme reinforces SPREP’s work to provide platform for young Pacific people to have a say in the environment issues including Pacific Emerging Environment Leaders Network and coordinated by the Secretariat.
