Young people showcase their talents and creativity at the biennial market day

More than 100 primary and university students from Rarotonga showcased their talents and creative skills at a market to celebrate International Youth Day on Friday.

Market Days are held at the National Hall and are designed to provide local young people with an opportunity to showcase their skills and talents and for others to observe and be inspired.

There were more than 20 stalls selling food, paintings, art, crafts and other items, led by young people and supported by their parents.

Cook Islands Family Welfare Association (CIFWA) Executive Director Rongo File, who organised the event with support from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), hailed the event as a success with the overwhelming support of the hundreds of people who attended the fair.

“For us, this is actually part of our job because we are a family planning clinic organization, so it’s something we do in our spare time, but we feel like it’s very effective,” Filey said.

“We want to get young people involved in these spaces so it’s not just the older generation, but young people are just as talented and creative.

“We hold this event every two years and we wanted to do it for Rarotonga, for the young people here, to see their potential and their creativity, and also have children selling at the market, to give them the time and space to launch their products.”

File said one of the improvements since the last market day in 2022 is that more people, especially young people, are participating.

“We’re seeing a lot of different faces and most of the people here aren’t the same people who were here last time, so they’re either still here or they’ve left.”

Youth Minister Vain “Mike” Mokoroa officially opened the event on Friday and spoke about the development opportunities for Cook Islands youth.

At the Party Shack stall, Jonathan File, 14, was running a thriving and dazzling business, selling cupcakes, creative candies and other pastries with the support of his cousins ​​and his mother.

Jonathan said he has been selling creative sweets at school to earn money to buy his own stationery.

He said: “My mother has always encouraged and pushed me to make money on my own to prepare for my future and life, so I spend most of my time selling these things at school, and the money I earn is mainly used to pay for my stationery fees.”

Jonathan has been selling candy for two years and his goal is to save money to work towards a better future and achieve his dream of becoming an engineer.

The Market Days are funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).