(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) from across the Region met in Saint Lucia over the weekend to be updated on recent developments within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and to develop a regional framework for integrating sustainable livelihood into HIV/AIDS prevention projects.

Over 30 CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) from Member States and Associate Members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) were participants at a three-day workshop at the Bay Garden Hotel in Saint Lucia, from 8-10 July, entitled “Sustainable Livelihoods for CARICOM Youth.”

The Workshop was aimed at, among other things, informing the Youth Ambassadors about the implications of the CSME, while equipping them with the communication tools to better inform their peers about the Community’s flagship programme.

The staging of the Workshop was considered particularly opportune, given the January 2006 implementation of the CARICOM Single Market, and its recent embrace by the OECS Member States at the 27th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of the Caribbean Community in St. Kitts and Nevis, held 3-6 July, 2006.

Deputy Programme Manager for Community Development, Youth and Sports at the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Heather Johnson, said that the involvement of the CYAs in the implementation process was critical, as they represented the “future of CSME and youth throughout the Region.”

She said the Workshop, which was the first major forum to educate Youth Ambassadors about the CSME, updated the participants on the current status of the CSME, and included topics such as the History of CARICOM and Regional Integration; Where We Are; Why Integrate; and Sustainable Livelihoods for Young People.

The Youth Ambassadors received training in the “Art of Public Speaking” from Mr. Salas Hamilton, Communications Specialist at the CSME Unit in Barbados, while presentations on “Understanding the Media” and “The Media Interview” were delivered by Ms Tecla Fontenard, a resource person in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat.

The workshop was organised by CARICOM, and is being facilitated by resource persons from the CARICOM Secretariat. It was hosted by the Government of St. Lucia and facilitated by the Saint Lucian Youth Department.