The National Youth Commission was recently endorsed as a unifying agency to oversee the implementation of national youth policies, said a GIS press release.
Such an arrangement would allow support and training for participants in a range of youth agencies – from those involved in church youth activities to after-school programmes.
This was indicated at a recent meeting of the Minister for Youth Alden McLaughlin, with the NYC on the occasion of the visit of Mr. Charles Henry, the Regional Director of the Caribbean Office of the Commonwealth Youth Programme, the release said.
Minister McLaughlin spoke to the need for close coordination of youth services, saying that government gives significant funding in youth-related grants each year with unknown or immeasurable results.
During the CYP’s regional director’s recent eight-day visit, he met with a cross-section of government officials and community leaders to review the status of youth issues.
Mr. Henry’s agenda included the Department of Youth and Sports, Portfolio of the Civil Service, the University College of the Cayman Islands and John Gray High School. He also met with Cayman Brac’s Deputy District Commissioner Ernie Scott and tutors of the Commonwealth Youth Development Diploma course.
During meetings Mr. Henry alerted local youth leaders and policy makers to the growing youth dilemmas in the region.
AIDS awareness
He cited as an example the dire need for a Caribbean AIDS awareness drive, since the region has the world’s second highest AIDS rate – behind sub-Saharan Africa. According to current research of nine Caribbean countries, there is a very early onset of sexual initiation (often as young as nine or 10 years old) among Caribbean youth, Mr. Henry stated in the release. More than half of those were reported as forced experiences.
On this issue of youth-HIV/AIDS, Mr. Henry said it is ‘most distressing’ that 83 per cent of cases in the Caribbean are contracted while they are between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
‘AIDS is a cross-cultural issue, and the Caribbean has moved rapidly past the incubation stage, and is now in a full-blown crisis. We need a more youth-focused approach that also reaches out to the non-mainstream youth,’ he commented.
He also highlighted high levels of violence and crime as serious regional concerns.
The CYP’s strategies to counter these and other concerns are youth education and young-leader training; establishing standards for people who work with young people; and encouraging youth enterprise and business development skills.
‘This should not be done as a favour, or a token expression to the youth, but should be evidence-based and asset-based programmes, not simply ‘feel-good’ approaches,’ said Mr. Henry.
Speaking of youth careers and civic participation, Mr. Henry noted that as many Caribbean countries emerge from subsistence lifestyles to modern money-market economies, they normally develop a bias for producing ‘wage earners’ instead of an appreciation for a business-minded approach to work.
He also noted the importance of aligning strategic youth plans with other national plans to ensure enhanced benefits to the major industries such as tourism and financial services.
‘There must be give-and-take with the established order,’ he added. ‘For instance, many non-traditional areas appeal to young people, and there must be allowances for other areas of employment, such as in the cultural and music industries.’
The Commonwealth official also spoke of efforts to include young men and women in a wide spectrum of decision-making.
‘Youth are disproportionately affected by societal issues and, because of this, they should be seen as part of the solution to these issues, not as the problem’s cause. As an example, the Commonwealth now involves Youth Caucus Members in its proceedings, allowing young people a direct say in CYP decisions,’ he said.
Commenting on what he had learned since arriving, Mr. Henry said, ‘I see willingness on the part of government and the citizens, and now is the time to address the positive socialisation of young people.’
He said discussion forums should be held to establish a consensus and action plans, adding that this must be an all-inclusive approach.
‘Everyone, especially the private sector and the media, must be fully onboard.’
For more information on Mr. Henry’s visit, or on Cayman’s youth programmes, contact Miss Katherine Whittaker at the Department of Youth and Sports on 949-7082.
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