(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCoYD) will be officially launched on Monday 5 March, 2007 in a ceremony at the Krasnapolsky Hotel, Paramaribo, Suriname at 7:00PM.
The keynote address will be delivered by the President of the Republic of Suriname, His Excellency Dr. Runaldo R Venetiaan, the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) Head of Government with lead responsibility for Community Development and Cultural Co-operation including Culture, Youth, Gender and Sport. The Deputy Secretary General of CARICOM, Her Excellency Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite will deliver remarks on behalf of the Secretariat.
The Commission has co-chairs in Professor Barry Chevannes of the University of the West Indies and CARICOM Youth Ambassador from Suriname, Ms. Yldiz Beighle. The other members of the Commission are drawn from five technocrats with outstanding theoretical, practical and research credentials and six youth leaders (aged 18 – 24).
They are: Ms. Ryssa Brathwaite Mr. Tamian Beckford Mr. Mervin Edgar Mr. Kyle DeFreitas Mr. Melvin Bouva Mrs. Terriann Gilbert-Roberts Mr. Armstrong Alexis Dr. Brada Brathwaite Mr. Lincoln Williams
The Commission will be supported by a three-member Secretariat led by CARICOM Assistant Secretary General, Human and Social Development, Dr Edward Greene and including the CARICOM Secretariat’s Deputy Programme Manager Community Development, Dr Heather Johnson and Mr Sherwin Bridgewater.
The inaugural meeting will be convened on Tuesday 6-7 March 2007 and is expected to finalise Commission’s draft Terms of Reference and Work Plan. The Meeting will also serve to facilitate analyses of adolescent and youth risk and vulnerability as well as gaps in the Community’s social and economic systems. Priorities for policy research that will inform the work of the Commission will also be examined
The CARICOM Commission on Youth Development originated out of a mandate from the 27th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in St. Kitts and Nevis in July 2006, and has been asked to “provide a full scale analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to make recommendations on how to improve their well-being and empowerment.”
The Commission, appointed by Heads of Government has a life span of one year in the first instance. Commissioners reflect the principle of youth/adult partnership and were selected through a consultative process involving stakeholders such as development partners, Directors of Youth Affairs, CARICOM Youth Ambassadors and Youth leaders.
The composition of the Commission is five technocrats with outstanding theoretical, practical and research contributions; six youth leaders (aged 18 – 24) from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Jamaica and Suriname and two Co-chairs – one technocrat, Professor Barry Chevannes of the University of the West Indies; and one CARICOM Youth Ambassador, Ms. Yldiz Beighle – nominated by the Member State Suriname.
