(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) After a four day meeting in Jamaica, CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) are mobilizing to help the recently-established CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) execute its mandate to chart a practical agenda for regional youth development.

The CYAs along with appointed national youth focal points will be “on the frontlines” in helping the Commission conduct an analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth, aged 10 to 29, in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); and make recommendations to improve their well-being and empowerment.

It will carry out a series of intense collection, gathering and analysis of data on several aspects of youth and youth-related issues such as unemployment, crime, education and migration. From that analysis the CCYD will submit a report with recommendations on how to best tackle the challenges confronting youth in the Community, highlight the opportunities available, and build on the successes of young people.

This report is expected to be presented at the next meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in July 2008.

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Youth Ambassador Ian Richards said that this analysis is extremely important and will greatly assist the CYA Programme to promote and highlight the benefits available to young people under the CSME.

He noted that the success of the analysis is heavily dependent on the cooperation of stakeholders such as community and youth-based organizations, public and private sector agencies, non-governmental organizations and unattached youth. He also stressed the need for partnerships with the mass media in facilitating the dissemination of information.

Following a mandate of the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Suriname in 2006, the Commission was launched in March 2007, comprising seven adult Commissioners and eight youth Commissioners. It is co-chaired by Professor Barry Chevannes of the University of the West Indies and Yldiz Beighle, a former CYA.

CYAs also used the opportunity to meet on issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS awareness PANCAP/CARICOM Mini-Grant Programme and discussed several Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven initiatives being planned. Skills training workshops on Media Relations and Gender Mainstreaming were also held.

The CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme (CYAP) is a consultative body knowledgeable of youth culture and experienced in youth consultation and outreach. It is a vital partner in mobilising adolescents and youth and coordinating the development and implementation of peer to peer education, consultation, action research and information dissemination elements of the Commission’s work plan.