| The Fifth National Conference on Youth Development reached a high point on Wednesday withthe presentation of a series of recommendations to Government in the Anguilla House of Assembly Chambers. |
The programme was chaired by Shellecia Brooks, the CARICOM Ambassador. The theme for this year’s Conference was: “Youth Enterprise – A Viable Solution to Youth Unemployment.”
Ms. Brooks said the theme was a very timely and important one and that the recommendations had resulted from last week’s Conference.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs, Mrs. Chanelle Petty-Barrett, said it could be argued that almost every decision made by the Government should be for the benefit of the youth and in the interest of future generations. She stated that if that was accepted, it was critical for young people to be involved in the decision-making process. Mrs. Petty-Barrett told the young people that by facilitating their involvement the Government would seek to ensure that they were adequately prepared to assume leadership roles when the time came. More importantly, as policy-maker, the Government should equip itself with the necessary information to make good decisions about issues affecting the youth. She took the opportunity to commend the Department of Youth and Culture, the Anguilla National Youth Council, the National Youth Ambassador Corps and other involved organisations for their efforts, over the years, to ensure that there was a youth voice in national decision-making. Chief Minister, Hubert Hughes, delivered an address in which he advised the young people to learn about their history as a means of being able to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to further the interests of their own development. He referred to the unemployment situation, noting that many young people were leaving school well educated, but unable to find employment due to the island’s economic situation which he hoped would eventually improve. Among other matters, the recommendations coming out of the National Youth Conference urged the Government to encourage more job fairs aimed at providing opportunities to match the unemployed with available jobs in the public and private sectors. The recommendations called for the development of a national campaign to motivate Anguilla’s residents to set up their own enterprises; for courses and programmes geared towards entrepreneurship development, and for soft skills enhancement to be encouraged and supported from Primary School level; for priority to be given to enhancing the infrastructural and resource needs of technical programmes at the Secondary School level; and that Government should partner with NGOs and the private sector to provide scholarships in technical fields. |
