(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of Barbados, Hon Reginald Farley today called on the Region’s policy makers to create of an enabling environment for the Region’s youth to decisively channel their views and input decision-making processes that impact their lives.
Minister Farley issued this call at the opening of the Thirteenth Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) which got underway in Georgetown under the theme: Youth in the CSME: Perspectives, Prospects, Challenges.
Touching on the imminent implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Minister Farley stressed the overarching significance of preparing the Region’s youth for “insertion into the global economy”, via effective education and employment. He noted that as regional governments continue to focus on improved healthcare delivery and the creation of employment, these should deliberately include components central to integrating the Region’s youth into mainstream society.
In outlining agenda issues for discussion over the next three days, Minister Farley said the Community’s hosting of Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 will represent its “Olympics” and an opportunity to showcase the Region’s ability “to stage a world class event.”
Delivering welcoming remarks at the meeting, Guyana’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Hon. Gail Teixiera said that today’s youth were confronted with several extra-regional challenges posed by globalisation and liberalisation. She named trans-national crime, drugs and poverty as negative influences that put today’s generation at greater risk than ever.
Minister Texieira affirmed that though poverty was not the sole reason for the proliferation of crime in many societies today, in some instances criminal activity was occasioned by poverty. She said this underscored the need for regional governments to allocate adequate resources to improve the quality of social services delivered to its citizens.
CARICOM’s Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development, Dr Edward Greene assured delegates attending the COHSOD Meeting that the Region was pressing ahead with the goals set out to make the CSME a reality by the end of this year.
He said in the face of setbacks and challenges including HIV/AIDS, crime and violence, “the Region is being challenged to find formulae for success.”
