I am pleased to welcome you to this Conference of Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion. I wish to extend a special welcome to the Students whose work over the last two years culminates here in Antigua and Barbuda. During the life of this project, about two hundred and eighty (280) students travelled from their homes to other Member States of the Community to experience the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to gain first hand knowledge of the opportunities which it presents. Most, if not all of you here today, would have participated in those missions. Over the next two days, you will share your experiences and represent the views of your other colleagues as you fine tune your recommendations on how to improve the operation of the CSME.
Your role in this exercise is very important. It may sound cliché but it is a fact that the CSME cannot be successful without the full participation of the Region’s Youth. Research has shown that young people under the age of 30 comprise 63% of the Region’s population. The success of the CSME is in large measure dependent on a healthy, highly skilled, creative, technologically savvy and competitive work force that is knowledgeable of country, Caribbean history and world affairs; has a strong sense of citizenship and Caribbean identity; is committed to regionalism and is confident that their dreams and aspirations will be realized within CARICOM.
It is clear from this description therefore, that you, the Youth, have a critical role to play in the success of the Region’s integration. Sadly, research has also shown that the CSME is widely unknown, misunderstood and underappreciated among our youth. The CARICOM Secretariat is therefore committed to undertaking a series of initiatives aimed at empowering and positioning young people to take advantage of and contribute to regional integration and the CSME. It is my fervent hope that this exercise would have made a significant contribution in that regard.
Before I go any further, let me clear up some misinformation which has been out there in the media recently. I am sure that over the last few weeks you would have observed some media reports stating that the CSME has been put on hold. I wish to assure you that this is not the case. As a matter of fact, nothing can be further from the truth. The Conference of Heads of Government has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to the CSME. The presence here this morning of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer is testimony to the importance which our Leaders place on the CSME and indeed the Youth of the Region.
At their Retreat in Guyana in May of this year, Heads of Government recognized that the CSME provides a platform for attaining the further economic development of the Community, and that its ultimate goal is to provide a better quality of life and greater prosperity for the Peoples of the Community. However, with specific reference to the Single Economy, they also recognized that the process towards its full implementation would take longer than originally anticipated. They therefore agreed to consolidate the gains from the Single Market before taking any further action on certain specific elements of the Single Economy, such as the movement towards a single currency. Clearly, this means that the CSME is not on hold. The CSME is alive and functioning although its implementation has not been at a pace some would have hoped to see. Perhaps we may have been a bit too ambitious in setting the timelines for its full implementation.
I tell you this to reassure you that the work that you have done over the past two years is not in vain. On the contrary, it is more relevant now because as we seek to consolidate what has been done, your views will be key in determining how we proceed with the further development of the Single Market and Economy.
Students, Ladies and Gentlemen, in January 2010, a Special Summit on Youth and Development was held in Suriname by the Conference of Heads of Government in order to discuss the findings contained in the Report of the CARICOM Commission on Youth and Development. For me, one of the more telling findings was that most youth preferred to leave the Region in search for career opportunities and a better life.
One of the outcomes of that Summit was the “Declaration of Paramaribo on the Future of Youth in the Caribbean Community” which recognizes young people as both beneficiaries and partners in Caribbean Development. In this Declaration the Conference affirmed its belief:
“that the unique perspective, creativity, energy and other assets which young people possess are essential elements of societal change, technological innovation and development, making them invaluable assets and partners in development and not problems to be solved”.
The Heads of Government further expressed their commitment:
“to initiatives to create a mass movement of young people in support of regional integration and to shape a sense of common identity and destiny through mechanisms and strategies such as ICT, youth-led advocacy and peer sensitization networks, youth exchanges, sports and culture”
This exercise to engage the Youth of the Region in identifying what career opportunities exist within the CSME gives expression to the Declaration of Paramaribo on the Future of Youth in the Caribbean Community.
This activity which started with student missions to the various Member States has had two critical outcomes. First of all the missions enabled you to travel to other Member States not only to obtain first hand experience of the functioning of the CSME, but at the same time, you were exposed to another country of the Caribbean Community. In some instances it was a country that you had never visited before. The missions allowed you to create a network among your colleagues and to instill a greater sense of Community.
The second reason why I believe this project is critical is because the end product will be a publication of your experiences, including recommendations, which will be distributed widely in our Community and without doubt will add another crucial piece of information and recommendations to what is already obtained in the Report of the CARICOM Commission on Youth. The work that you will undertake in working groups today and tomorrow to discuss the findings of the missions and recommendations is therefore as important as the first hand experience you gained, especially since it might help other students and youth to better understand the CSME, including its benefits. I therefore wish to urge you to be very frank and candid during the working group discussions.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the European Union for its generous support for this project, not only with respect to the funding, but also for the participation of the various Delegations of the European Commission. It has been duly observed that throughout this exercise the representatives of the European Commission were there to meet with the students and encourage them to enjoy the experience. This has been very much appreciated by the students as well as the CARICOM Secretariat.
Based on the findings of the Youth Commission it is clear that there is a dire need for activities which offer our youth as well as other stakeholders an opportunity to learn more about our integration process. Given the success of this particular activity we look forward to the continued support of the European Union in the Region’s public education drive.
I also wish to use this opportunity to publicly thank the CSME Focal Points and tertiary institutions in Member States for their support in making this project a rewarding personal experience for the selected students. Without your support the implementation of this project would have been virtually impossible and the Secretariat is therefore greatly indebted to you. I am therefore pleased to see here today, many CSME Focal Points who have supported and participated in the various missions.
It would be remiss of me not thank the staff of the CARICOM Secretariat for their sterling execution of this project.
Ladies and gentlemen, as indicated earlier we still have work to do during this Conference and I therefore conclude these remarks by wishing you a highly productive and successful meeting, and hope that the experience gained during the missions and the ones you will gain in the coming two days will not only last a lifetime, but will also motivate you to contribute to the regional integration process in some fashion, and to capitalize on the opportunities that the CSME offers you.
On your return home, I urge each and every one of you to partner with the Youth Ambassadors in your country and use the experience that you have gained to promote the CSME.
I thank you.
