About Us

The Regional Director leads a team of two Programme Managers and several support staff at the Georgetown centre. In addition to developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating CYP's three-year Strategic Plan, the Regional Director convenes and provides secretarial services to the CYP Regional Advisory Board, Regional Youth Forum Meeting and also assists in the preparation of the Commonwealth Youth Ministers' Meeting.

CYPCC functions through three Strategic Programme Areas which are:

Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods (YESL)

CYP will empower young people to play more active and participatory roles in national, social, political and economic development in member countries through the following four programme areas:

• Enterpriseand entrepreneurship development
• Information and communications technology (ICT) initiatives
• Addressing social exclusion
• HIV/AIDS

Governance, Development and Youth Networks (GDYN)

CYP will enhance policy development and implementation through the active participation of young

people in youth networks, governance and other decision-making fora in selected countries. This will

be achieved through the following two programme areas:

• National Youth Policy and Action Plans
• Strengthening of governance structures

Youth Work Education and Training (YWET)

CYP will encourage and sustain the development of human resources and intellectual capital to promote and support youth development through the following programme area:

• Professionalising Youth Work

Crosscutting themes that will be incorporated across the three programmes include the use of ICT, capacity-building, youth participation, youth mainstreaming, research-based enquiry, gender equality and equity, youth development through sports, and communications and marketing. In particular, the latter strategy will be used to raise global awareness of the work and value of the CYP. It will also focus on key constituencies such as young people and their networks and promote wholesome positive images of young men and women who are making valued contributions for their futures, their families and their communities.

The Plan will be funded by voluntary contributions to the CYP. Its implementation will benefit from support structures and networks at the wider level of the Commonwealth Secretariat, as well as through an established network of regional and international partnerships and strategic alliances. Monitoring and evaluation instruments developed by the pan-Commonwealth Office will be used to measure the programme's target attainment, results, outcomes and impact across the four regions. Where appropriate, we will also seek to supplement our funding through bilateral and multilateral sources, especially for our areas of work that are consistent with achieving the relevant MDGs.