(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) came in for high praises at the opening ceremony of the Special Summit of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community on Friday for delivering on their mandate.

Fifteen Commissioners – eight youth leaders and seven senior technical experts – led by Jamaica’s Barry Chevannes and Suriname’s Yildiz Beighle, on March 5, 2007 accepted the mandate to conduct research on the situation of youth in the Caribbean and to recommend policies for advancing the youth development agenda.

On Friday, CARICOM Heads of Government convened a special summit to receive the Report of two-and-half-years of qualitative research, and they were “impressed.”

According to the CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington, the preparation through wide-spread consultations and over-all sensitization of the public to the major challenges and solutions of youth development was what made the Commission’s Report unique.

He added that the Report provided the Region and its policy makers with concrete evidence on the situation of youth, which could allow the Region to move forward meaningfully with an agenda for action. He recorded his appreciation for the Commission.

Lead Head of Government for Youth, Suriname’s President Runaldo Venetiaan described the report as a watershed document that could chart the path for regional development. He applauded the Commission for what he called a job well done.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit said while he did not agree with everything in the Report, he was impressed with the work of the Commission and was further committed to endorsing the findings and recommendations contained therein.

Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Corps, Monelle Alexis applauded the Commission for what she called their “unswerving commitment to youth work,” and singled out co-chair Yldiz Beighle as a telling example of what young people could accomplish.

Other members who served on the Commission are Barbados’ Hally Haynes, Belize’s Alberto Velloz, Jamaica’s Terri-Ann Gilbert Roberts, Tamian Beckford and Lincoln Williams, Saint Lucia’s Armstrong Alexis and Marvin Edgar, St Vincent and the Grenadine’s Kyle deFreitas, Suriname’s Melvin Bouva, Annette Louise Tjon Sie Fat and Trinidad and Tobago’s Brada Brathwaite, Ryssa Brathwaite and Ravi Lutchman.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org