It gives me great pleasure to address this Sixteenth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development and to bring you greetings from the Government of Barbados, and particularly the Hon. Anthony Wood, Minister of Education, Youth and Culture, and Dr. the Hon. Jerome Walcott, Minister of Health, both of whom Chaired the meetings of this Council during the period October 2006 to September 2007. From all reports, the year was an extremely exacting and rewarding one.

The Assistant Secretary-General has already highlighted the achievements in Education and Health. He has also referred to the frenetic pace of activities that involved all Councils and Units of the CARICOM Secretariat, and indeed all countries in the Community, in preparing for and executing the ICC/CWC 2007. Despite the performance, or lack thereof, of the West Indies Team, ICC/CWC 2007 demonstrated the tenacity and capability of the Region in planning and successfully executing the third largest sporting event after the Olympics and Soccer World Cup. The legacies of ICC/CWC 2007 have implications for and relevance to the theme of this meeting “Realizing the potential of youth and culture in the Community”.

First of all, there is the legacy that through cooperation, this Region of small nation states can perform with distinction on the international stage. The regulations that were put in place for a safe and secure environment, despite the original negative reactions both locally and internationally, turned out to be a major success. The Council for Law Enforcement and Security, the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the CARICOM Secretariat, the national customs, immigration, military and police together gave a demonstration of the ultimate benefits of functional cooperation.

Second, and more specifically, the Caribbean has a special “brand” that is distinctive and which is well worth preserving and promoting. In this regard, I am glad that among the items on the agenda for this meeting is the issue of cultural industries with specific reference to an examination of the measure in international trade negotiations required to create and sustain these industries. This resonates with some of the priorities in my own country to advance the cause of cultural and sports tourism. This must begin with a serious strategic plan for managing our stadia and making them commercially viable. Beyond that, there is the need to provide a firm legal and economic basis for our performing arts, our cricketers and other sports persons to truly benefit from the opportunities in the global market place. In this sense I look forward to the discussions on the new CARIFESTA which must strike at the heart of making our cultural festivals internationally attractive and part of the essence of marketing the uniqueness of the talents of this Region.

We congratulate Guyana for undertaking the role of host of CARIFESTA X and pledge Barbados’ support in making this important festival a success.

Third, the development of human resources with competences in international events planning and management will no doubt redound to the benefit of the Region as we compete for the hosting and delivery of other international events. In this regard, the training in disaster management, coping with mass emergencies and mobilizing regional resources through the sharing of professional health services are exactly the skills that must be diffused and incorporated into the new designs to achieve a Caribbean Public Health Agency which was recommended by the Special COHSOD of Health Ministers, referred to by Dr Greene in his opening remarks, and more recently endorsed by the Conference of Heads of Government in July 2007 in Barbados.

The Agenda for this meeting indeed connects with this legacy in its focus on the movement of skilled Community nationals.

As outgoing Chair of COHSOD, Barbados is particularly pleased to be associated with the coming into force of the Certification for artisans and the movement of persons with associate degrees and comparable qualifications, in addition to the free movement of artists and cultural workers. We see this as truly a movement toward the realization of a “Community for All” that has been promoted in the Declaration of Needham Point Barbados at the last Heads of Government Conference.

Above all, the focus on the youth agenda assumes particular importance for the entire Region. Barbados gives its full support to the work of the Commission on Youth and Development. We look forward to the presentations on the progress report of this Commission, as well as to the more specific presentations on youth risk, vulnerability and protection, the strategic plan for youth development and on the status of the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme. Our enduring legacy resides with the empowerment of our youth, of putting in place the enabling environment for them to grasp opportunities and to overcome the challenges and risks. For example, youth unemployment at 25 percent throughout the Region is too high, and so are violence in schools, crime and violence that account for a relatively high ratio of imprisonment of our young boys, violence against girls, including sexual harassment and rape, HIV/AIDS mortality that afflicts youth between 15 and 29 years more that any other group. These are all social maladies that must be urgently addressed.

As Barbados formally demits the Chair of COHSOD, it does so recognizing that despite the achievements over the past year, there is much more to be done. We will therefore continue to work with all other Member States to truly achieve our commitment to a Community for All.