CARICOM After School Activity Programme (ASAP) workshop kicks off in Anguilla

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     The first of a series of workshops in preparation for the implementation of the pilot project for the CARICOM After School Activity Programme (ASAP) began on Monday in Anguilla.
The workshop which is being implemented by the Caribbean Sport and Development Agency was attended by twenty one persons consisting of teachers, coaches, sports administrators, and students from across Anguilla.
The ASAP is a collaboration between the CARICOM Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)  and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)Sub-regional Cooperation Programme and is being managed by the Sport and Development sub programme of the Secretariat.
One of the significant grounds upon which the project is being implemented is the recommendation of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development to invest more in after school activities and increase use of school facilities to provide organised extra- curricular, recreational and sports activities for youth in the Community. This recommendation is among a slew of other proposals enclosed in the CCYD’s Report titled, “Eye on the Future, Investing in Youth now for Tomorrow’s Community,” presented to CARICOM Heads of Government after region-wide investigation of the challenges and opportunities for the youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
The project was also framed under the Youth Innovation Project of the UNDP which seeks to address human development through linking environmental, economic, and social inputs to boost youth potential. It got underway at the Conference Centre of the James Ronald Webster Park with an opening ceremony chaired by the Director of Sport, Rollins Richardson and addressed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Services, Anguilla Chanelle Petty- Barret.
The Permanent Secretary in her address emphasized the significance of the programme and underscored the value of the ASAP. She said it added a new and welcomed dimension to the Ministry’s plans to develop strategies to address the challenges of youth and promote their development.
According to Deputy Programme Manager for Sports at the CARICOM Secretariat, John Campbell, the ASAP seeks to provide structured sports programmes for youth in schools particularly those outside of the elite sport realm and is designed to promote positive social and life-skills among youth.
Other preparation workshops are planned for Grenada and Saint Lucia with the actual implementation of ASAP slated for JANUARY 2014.