(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The stage has been set for the convening of the Twenty-Second Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on 2 February 2012 in Georgetown, Guyana. The Meeting convened under the theme, Culture, Youth and Sport: strategic repositioning for human and economic development has provided a platform for robust discussions on the youth, sport and culture and development agenda within the Community.
A roadmap for the development of Cultural Industries has been prioritised with particular focus on the Draft CARICOM Regional Development Strategy and Action Plan for Cultural Industries. This comprehensive strategy was central to the work of the Task Force on Cultural Industries established in October 2008, and sets out among its objectives, growth for the creative economy by building more globally competitive creative industries as the foundation for increased employment in the sector.
COHSOD will closely examine the slate of recommendations outlined in the draft Strategy and Action Plan, and it is expected to sanction the direction the Task Force has put forward for development of Cultural Industries in the Region. A critical part of COHSOD’s discussion within this context is draft model legislation for a Cultural Industry Development Act that can be used by Member States as a guide to implement those recommendations.
The Draft Strategy and Action Plan also include recommendations for the institutional strengthening of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA). In this regard, the Task Force recommends that the current multi-layered decision-making structure of the Festival be replaced with a “network structure” that is more dynamic, flexible and inclusive.
Considerable focus will also be placed on the draft CARICOM Youth Development Action Plan (CYADP) which gives expression to the Declaration of Paramaribo on the Future of Youth in the Caribbean Community. The Declaration was issued by CARICOM Heads of Government following a Special Summit on Youth Development held in Suriname January 2010. CARICOM Heads of Government convened the Summit to discuss the seminal report of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) titled Eye on the Future, Invest in Youth Now for Tomorrow’s Future. The Report provided a comprehensive analysis of the situation of youth in the Caribbean and made significant recommendations on how to improve the well-being of Caribbean youth.
Central elements of the CYDAP include six CARICOM Youth Development Goals that speak to the formulation of a policy and institutional environment to ensure the following youth outcomes: resilience, safety and security; health and holistic wellbeing; education and economic empowerment; youth participation, governance and partnerships; and culture, identity and citizenship. These goals will be used in tandem with a strengthened Regional Strategy for Youth Development to measure the monitor the progress of implementation of the CYADP and measure outcomes.
Similarly, the COHSOD will discuss proposals for the development of a Regional Task Force on Sport Tourism to assess the situation of Caribbean Sport with a view to developing a regional strategy to harness the potential of sport tourism.
Space has also been created for a discussion on repositioning the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme (CYAP), which has been the Community’s primary mechanism for deepening levels of youth participation and partnership in regional integration. The COHSOD will examine the achievements, impact and challenges of the CYAP, and begin a discussion on initiatives to guarantee its financial sustainability at both the national and regional levels.
Other matters that will engage the attention of the COHSOD include the phased implementation of the CARICOM Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan a follow-up to the UN High-Level Meeting on Chronic Non- Communicable Diseases; and matters relating to the governance of cricket in the Region.
The two-day COHSOD meeting will commence on Thursday with an opening ceremony that will be addressed by the CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and Chair of COHSOD, Honourable Dr. Frank Anthony, Guyana’s Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport and the co-Chair of the Regional Task Force on Cultural Industries Mr Adrian Augier, who will make a feature presentation on Cultural Industries within the Caribbean Community.
