Commonwealth helps develop youth policies across the Caribbean

Caribbean countries are receiving assistance from the Commonwealth Youth Programme’s (CYP) Caribbean Centre to help them implement their respective national youth policies.

Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, St Lucia, Anguilla, and Turks and Caicos Islands are all in the process of developing action plans with CYP. Trinidad and Tobago, which already has a Strategic Plan, was supported through a youth mainstreaming workshop; and technical assistance in Jamaica will be discussed during a proposed visit in September 2008.

“We have been engaged in a high level of advocacy, trying to get governments and youth development stakeholders in the Caribbean to appreciate the need to adopt a more strategic approach to youth development,” said Henry Charles, Director of CYP’s Caribbean Centre.

He explained that over the last few years a number of governments have developed their youth policies, which were more like “statements of intent”. Some of these policies have been tabled in Parliaments but “they were not being implemented in any consistent strategic manner”.

“One of the things that is required to advance the youth development agenda in the Caribbean is for there to be a more strategic approach, which is why CYP has been offering its technical expertise.”

In June this year, Antigua and Barbuda’s Youth Department benefited from a weekend of strategic planning. It was an opportunity to analyse the various youth development challenges and opportunities. Among the challenges identified were unemployment, negative impacts of crime and violence and partisan politics. The opportunities assessed included the existence of a National Youth Policy, a supportive youth development framework and CYP support and technical assistance.

CYP Caribbean Centre also organised a meeting with the Department of Youth to align their work and policies with the national youth agenda. Out of that meeting a sub-committee was formed to flesh out the action plan, the outline of which is expected to be finished in time for their National Youth Week in October.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Director of Youth, Cleon Athill, said that this strategic planning will help get their youth policy off the page and into practice. The process, she explained, will also help gain input from stakeholder organisations rather than simply presenting them with a finished product.

Ms Athill said: “The objective is to build a cadre of stakeholders who can move the plan forward when it is finished.”

The Director of Youth in Turks and Caicos Islands, Angela Forbes, stated that they have had a lot of success in their youth programme, having incorporated strategic planning with assistance from CYP earlier in the year. Since then, it has had the support of the government and other organisations and they are now in the process of implementing some of the plans set down.

“In some aspects we have not even requested support but different community organisations called to say that they want to give us assistance given the scope of the plans that we have. We are very pleased about that,” said Ms Forbes.

Key Links:

• Youth
• CYP Caribbean