(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) For the first time in four years, Haiti has appointed two Youth Ambassadors for the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYA) programme.
Both M. Isnel Pierreval and Mlle. Gyliane Cadet were warmly welcomed among fifteen new Youth Ambassadors who were presented with their instruments of appointment, by Mr Lionel Weekes, Barbados Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Family, Youth, Sport and the Environment, at this morning’s opening ceremony of the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Workshop now convened at the United Nations House in Christ Church, Barbados, April 21- 23.
Twenty-five of the appointed thirty-one Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) are participating in a comprehensive three-day orientation exercise designed to sensitise them to the mission, goals and challenges of the Youth Ambassador Programme and to equip them with requisite knowledge and skills that will enable them to acquit their responsibilities effectively.
The regional youth advocates, who are mandated to promote CARICOM issues among their peers at the national level, are also meeting to develop and discuss new strategies to target Caribbean youth on priority issues such as the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and HIV and AIDS.
At the opening ceremony yesterday (21 April 2008), the Hon. Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo, Minister of Family, Youth, Sport and the Environment, Barbados, who delivered the feature address, expressed satisfaction with the work of the CYA programme and emphasised that her Government which was elected to office just three months ago has “honoured its financial commitment” to the local implementation of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) and committed resources of the Ministry of Youth towards ongoing tasks of the Commission. She added that the alacrity with which the programme was being supported by the government was also motivated by the excellent work done at the national level by Barbados Youth Ambassadors Dwayne Branch and Donna Greene, who now serves as the Dean of the CYA.
The Minister pointed to “the excellent reputation that the CYA programme has developed regionally,” and noted that “the future of CARICOM is in good hands as the young people continue to advocate for youth empowerment and regional integration.”
Minister Byer-Suckoo encouraged adults and other youth oriented organizations to embrace the vision of young people in order to enhance the capabilities and avenues for success. Deputy Programme Manager for Youth Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Heather Johnson applauded the members, for what she described as their “commendable volunteerism and dedication to the CYA programme (CYAP).” She told the CYAs that they were important tools in the effort to educate young people at the national level and encouraged them to network with their peers and related associations such as national youth councils in ensuring that a wide range of youth are positively impacted by the programme. Dr. Johnson thanked the Government of Barbados for hosting the three-day workshop, which is the first for the year.
Director of Youth (Barbados) Hally Haynes congratulated the CARICOM Secretariat for placing priority on youth issues and pledged his full support to the CARICOM Youth Desk.
In addition to Haiti, fourteen Member States and three Associate Members have either appointed new youth ambassadors or re-appointed those who had served in 2007. The new CYAs are: Sachico Hopkins, Antigua and Barbuda; Sasha Ambrister, The Bahamas; Jamaal King and Kayla Arnold, Belize; Jess Vital and Monelle Alexis, Dominica; Kamesha Turner and Dwayne Gutzmer; Jamaica; Siobhan Tuitt and Jovarn Thornhill, Montserrat; Nintus Magre, Saint Lucia; Jihan Williams, St Kitts and Nevis and Renando Henderson, St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Ambassadors who have been returned are: Cleveroy Thomas, Antigua and Barbuda; John Darville, The Bahamas; Donna Greene and Dwayne Branch, Barbados; Devon Rachae, Grenada; Ian Richards, St Kitts and Nevis; Nalisa Marieatte, Saint Lucia; Ferranto Dongor and Stephany Kasketi, Suriname; Altocha Anderson, St Vincent and the Grenadines; Rian Williams, Trinidad; Eduardo Samuels and Sherri-Anne Roberts, Anguilla; Nicosia Lawson, the Cayman Islands; and Karlansia Mills, Turks and Caicos Islands.
For the next two days these CYAs will focus on a heavy agenda, which includes the completion of the draft Regional Strategic Framework for the 2008-2010 CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme. They will be joined on Wednesday by local youth leaders to discuss and develop strategies to increase youth participation in development issues such as the environment, CSME and HIV and AIDS.
The CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme (CYAP) is the Community’s institutional arrangement for youth participation in development and integration issues, knowledgeable of youth culture and experienced in peer to peer education and outreach.
