| Young people throughout Anguilla have had another opportunity to express their views on various issues affecting them and the island on a whole. This has been provided by the Fifth National Conference on Youth and Development which opened at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on Thursday, September 29. |
Minister responsible for Youth Affairs, Edison Baird, said he was inspired by the theme of this year’s conference: “Youth Enterprise: A Viable Solution to Youth Unemployment.” According to him, it gave the assurance that in these trying economic times, young people were not sitting back waiting for hand-outs but were willing to create opportunities to further their own development.
The Minister made the point that although every Government claimed to make decisions to benefit youth, the young people were often not consulted in the process. He stressed that such a lack of consultation could have a disempowering effect on youngsters and prevent them from being adequately prepared to assume leadership roles.
“This National Conference seeks to address this issue and to give young people the opportunity to voice their opinions on issues that affect them and have those opinions inform policy,” Mr. Baird continued. “My Ministry is very pleased with the efforts of the Department of Youth and Culture, and its stakeholders, in seeking ways of involving young people in the national decision-making process; and ensuring that their views are given due consideration in matters that affect them. “The fact that this year’s theme focuses on youth enterprise, suggests that our young people recognise the importance of taking the initiative, making things happen, charting their own course. This is commendable, and I assure you that the Ministry of Social Development is supportive of your efforts. Through the Department of Youth and Culture, we will assist in empowering you to achieve your goals by facilitating the creation of an environment in which youth enterprise can flourish.” Mr. Baird observed that while the issue of youth enterprise as a solution for youth unemployment was exciting, it was also inherently challenging. He had no doubt that the young people were ready to rise to the challenge. Director of Youth and Culture, Dwayne Adams, said that in times like these, when all hands and minds were needed on deck, his Department was privileged to host the National Conference so close to Caribbean Youth Day. “As a Department, small in size, but large in vision, we especially understand how little things, such as this Conference, can have a tremendous impact,” he stated. “Our Conference keeps us rooted in conversation with the youth, helps us to arrive at a broad agenda while still focusing on priority issues for the emerging recommendations.” President of the Anguilla National Youth Conference, VinciaGumbs, stated that in order for youth enterprise to be effective, there was a need for young people to be educated. She stressed: “Effective youth entrepreneurship prepares young people to be responsible, enterprising individuals, who become entrepreneurs and contribute to the economic and sustainable development of our communities.” She was of the view that a viable solution to youth unemployment was one that directly addressed Anguilla’s current economic position in which there were limited jobs. The Commonwealth Youth Day Pledge for September 30 was led by Shellecia Brooks, Anguilla’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. She said the annual event provided an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the achievementsof the region’s young men and women and their contributions to sustainable development. Following Thursday’s opening ceremony, part one of the National Conference began with addresses by several persons. The speakers were: former Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, who spoke on “Youth, Employment and the Global Economic Crisis”; President of the Anguilla Community College, Professor Delroy Louden, whose topic was “The Role of Education in Skills and Entrepreneurial Development”; Permanent Secretary in the Minister of Home Affairs, Foster Rogers, whose address was on “Conditions for stimulating Youth Employment through Enterprise Development”; Wilma Broaden, who spoke on “Economic Diversification – Enabling Small and Micro Enterprise Development in Anguilla”; and Companies Registrar, Lanston Connor, whose address was on “Government Business Practices and Regulations”. The Conference resumed the next day, Friday, September 30, with addresses by Jules Pascal on “The Youth Business Initiative;” and short talks on “Financing and Financial Literacy and Mechanisms” by representatives of the Caribbean Commercial Bank, Anguilla Development Board and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. After the addresses there were a number of group presentations and discussions, and the drafting of recommendations for presentation during the second part of the Conference in the Anguilla House of Assembly Chambers on Wednesday, October 5. |
