The arts are a great way for young people to express themselves, and in the Tongan capital of Nukualofa, they're expressing their energy through a dynamic organisation called On The Spot.

It's all about making a difference - and having fun in the process. Tania Nugent caught up with them on the road to see their latest project in action.

Tania Nugent: We're on location with the crew of a Tongan youth TV show. It's called Suto.

Yvane Fifita, TV show host: "Suto" - the translation in English is hitch hiking, but, like many words, in Tongan it has a lot more meaning. You can use it when we intrude on someone and join their meal or we go and just crash at someone's house - that's sutoing. So it's kinda like an unplanned for action.
It's all really random, it's kinda like last minute. We kind of have a brief idea of what we'll do, what kind of things we want to cover like youth in action, stuff to do with the environment, just basic things that happen around Tonga. We just get together and choose or pick an idea and then just suto there!

Tania Nugent: The Suto TV program is produced by On the Spot, a youth arts organisation founded in 2007 by Yvane's older sister, 24 year old Ebonie Fifita.

Ebonie Fifita, Coordinator, On the Spot: There's nothing really arts focussed for youth so we decided that our organisation, On the Spot, would be arts focused and totally for young people to express themselves and contribute to the community through the arts.

Kalafi Moala, TV Channel Owner: It's amazing the amount of talent that is here in Tonga among youth. Most of them they don't have the means by which they can produce their own programs - performing arts or arts or whatever and so I met them basically trying to say, 'Hey is it possible for you to produce something for youth, be a voice for some of the young people'.

Tania Nugent: Kalafi Moala is among a handful of business people and artists who are supporting On the Spot. Suto is broadcast free on his privately run TV service, which also provides the production equipment.

Kalafi Moala: There are about 2000 young people each year who come out of school as school leavers. Some of them go on to tertiary education, some of them get a job, but for the majority of them, there is nothing for them around.

Ruhan Fifita, On the Spot member: We came here today to spend time with Moana, who has been running workshops with us, sharing her skills. She 's been doing fashion design for a long time.

Ebonie Fifita: We've been running workshops whenever we find professionals visiting Tonga or even a few living here and they can be anything from playing the guitar, to voice exercises, we had some workshops in fashion design.

Tania Nugent: What are you going to do with the skills you learn in this workshops?

Ruhan Fifita: In the short term, put them into making garments for our fashion show that's coming up but hopefully also to use them in the future like start income generating projects or just being creative.

Tania Nugent: On Saturday nights, this is the place to hang for Tonga's talented young people.

Ebonie Fifita: We bring together young people who are interested in singing and dance and work with them for at least a month and then they put on a two hour show for the community that's free.

Robert Haealeta, On the Spot member: Definitely I'm a dancer. I want to be a rugby player in the future, but I think dancing is the right choice for me, because look at me, I can't be a rugby player.

Lasela Manoa, On the Spot member: I love everything about it. It teaches me a lot of stuff, like working together as a group.

Kalafi Moala: Ebonie has tremendous character in terms of her own sense of purpose, sense of direction and the kind of values that she has, and this is reflected very much in the young people that she draws around her. She just
stands out. These are the kind of young people that we really need to get behind and encourage them and find out their vision and see what we can do to facilitate that kind of vision.

Ebonie Fifita: It's the older youth that I looked up to that have inspired me, but also having the younger generation behind you that motivates you just to do something for them, when there's nothing going on.