(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown Guyana) January 27-30 will mark a historic juncture in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as Heads of Government gather in Paramaribo, Suriname to discuss the circumstances of youth in the Region and on measures to ensure that their future is promising.

It would be the culmination of a three-year probe into their circumstance - a task given to the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) by the CARICOM Heads of Government.

The CARICOM Heads of Government had mandated the CCYD to conduct a “full scale analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to make recommendations on how best to empower them and improve their well-being.”

After three years of concentrated research, the CCYD now has its draft report titled Eye on the Future: Invest in YOUTH NOW for the Community Tomorrow. This Report will be presented at the Youth Summit, which will encompass a Regional Youth Forum, a Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on Youth and Development, and a Heads of Government Summit on Youth Development.

The Regional Youth Forum on January 27, which is being supported by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), will look at, among other things, increasing young people’s contribution to national and regional youth agenda. When COHSOD meets on January 28, it is expected to consider the draft report of the CCYD, examine issues related to youth development in the context of agriculture, and Information Communication Technology; and draft a declaration to be submitted to the Heads of Government on 29 January.

However, much anticipation surrounds the Heads of Government Summit on Youth Development from January 29-30, which is supported by the European Union through the Caribbean Integration Support Programme (CISP).

That meeting holds historic significance. It would be the first Summit of the Conference of Heads of Government - the highest decision making body of the Community - on youth in the Community.

It is set to counter a mind-set that youth are, for the most part, apathetic towards serious issues which affect their daily lives. The CCYD consulted with more than six thousand young people across the Region who articulated their challenges in a manner which prompted Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development to say he was “impressed.”

Youth expressed themselves on a range of issues surrounding ten strategic strands: education and training, youth unemployment; health, sexual reproductive lifestyles and practices; crime and violence; migration, Caribbean identity and the CSME; external challenges to cultural values; governance, politics and youth participation and youth risks and vulnerability.

The youth did not only present a litany of challenges, but they also articulated a slate of recommendations that could inform policies for youth development, reinforcing the school of thought that “young people are the best architects for promoting their own development and solving their own problems, not as victims, but as actors who have and can make a significant contribution to society.”

The work of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Government of Spain, the Government of Italy and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Technical support was provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP).

The CCYD received its mandate in July 2006. In January 2010 it would pass on the baton to the CARICOM Heads of Government in the form of the Report Eye on the Future: Invest in YOUTH NOW for the Community Tomorrow. CARICOM Heads will now chart a course towards youth empowerment.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org