| Caribbean leaders yesterday issued a 12-point declaration following intense consultations with youth leaders in the region, with more youth involvement in the policies and developmental strategies being key elements for enhancement within CARICOM.Junior Mercier of Haiti makes a presentation to Suriname’s President, Runaldo Venetiaan.At the end of the meeting in Paramaribo, Suriname, where a special regional summit on youth development was held, the leaders issued the Communiqué, which recognised that the unique perspective, creativity, energy and other assets that Caribbean youths possess are essential elements of societal change, technological innovation and development.They also expressed a consciousness that regional integration holds the key to the optimal development of the small developing countries of the Community and the regional population, the majority of which is under the age of 30.The leaders also acknowledged the corrosive impact poverty, social inequalities and marginalisation have had on youth health and well being within the region, and the impact globalisation has had on traditional values and attitudes, as well as the dual impact of global streams of information and culture on youth dreams, aspirations, risk and vulnerability.It was acknowledged that strengthening of the Regional Strategy for Youth Development will promote citizenship and Caribbean identity; youth health, protection and well being; new and younger leadership, governance and participation and social and economic empowerment, productivity and competitiveness.The leaders are convinced of the benefits to be derived from institutionally strengthening and raising the profile of Departments responsible for Youth Affairs, National Youth Councils, the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme and other youth governance structures.The leaders also recognised the contributions of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other development partners toward the development and empowerment of Caribbean youth.They also endorsed the main recommendations of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development with regard to the CSME, youth governance, human resource development, sports and culture.The Heads also welcomed the United Nations proclamation of 2010 as the International Year of Youth, which gives heightened importance to this first Special Summit of CARICOM Heads of Government on Youth Development and the report of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development.More recognition will be placed on articulating the role of youth in Caribbean development in the amended Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas; ensuring too that this role is enshrined in national and regional development strategies, together with provisions for youth mainstreaming, youth-adult partnership and youth participation across all sectors.The leaders have committed themselves to creating initiatives for the mass movement of young people in support of regional integration and to shaping a sense of common identity and destiny through mechanisms and strategies such as ICT, youth-led advocacy and peer sensitisation networks, youth exchanges, sports and culture.They also voiced their full support for auditing departments responsible for Youth Affairs and for developing,Cheap Jerseys Free, by mid-2011, comprehensive restructuring plans informed by regional guidelines which include co-ordination of youth development initiatives nationally; mainstreaming youth; strategic planning and research-driven programming.Also forming strategic alliances and implementation partnerships with youth organisations, non-governmental organisations and development agencies; co-ordinating the implementation of the Regional Strategy for Youth Development; and translating regional policy into national action.They also endorsed the recommendation by the youth leaders to use the Commission on Youth Development’s research findings to strengthen the Regional Strategy for Youth Development and to develop complementary CARICOM Youth Development Goals, targets and indicators as desirable outcomes for youth well-being and empowerment.Enhanced recognition and incentives will now be provided for outstanding youth talent, excellence and volunteerism through the establishment of a regional youth award at the level of the Order of the Caribbean Community and a multi-agency Regional Youth Awards and Incentives Programme.The Heads also made the commitment to take into account the gender dimension in all of the programmes aimed at youth development and empowerment and to embrace the role of the media as a responsible partner in all our efforts to empower and develop young people.Further endorsement was given for proposals to develop, in consultation with regional and international agencies and donors, the modalities for a sustainable regional mechanism for financing the operationalisation and implementation of the commitments arising out of this Special Summit on Youth Development.This will also be extended to strengthening the capacity of the CARICOM Youth Desk to provide oversight of the implementation and monitoring of the Regional Strategy for Youth Development. |
