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The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport held a symposium for senior officials from the public sector, civil society and development agencies. At the opening ceremony of the symposium at the Carifesta Sports Complex, it was emphasized that the National Youth Policy is not being done just so that Guyana can have one.
“We are doing the youth policy because we are serious…we want to use it to make changes, to help young people better themselves, and if we want to impact the challenges then we have to go beyond the rhetoric,” the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony said.
He added that while the challenges can be easily identified people must also come-up with resolutions for the challenges.
In his address, the Minister pointed out that for a long time efforts have been made to upgrade the youth policy in the past, in this regard what was relevant then may not be today while some may persist.
It is therefore important for the relevant areas to address be identified, in this regard the MCYS alone cannot look at all the issues relating to youths hence the need for an interagency approach. This would seek out the mismatches and address them.
Some of the keys that need attention relate to health care, education, career coaching, employment and gender equality.
The purpose of the symposium is to determine achievable strategies, interventions, and multi-stakeholder implementation responses that will produce successful outcomes for young people in Guyana.
In his remarks Permanent Secretary, Alfred King, called on the gathering to regard the day’s event as a significant one in Guyana’s history since most people consider youth and youth development as not as crucial as other areas of national development.
“As we contemplate what the post 2015 agenda for development is, you will find that youth is being considered high on the agenda in terms of mainstreaming and contributing to national development,” he posited.
PS King added that by 2015 many would realize that the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) would have given us at least some vision/goals to work with in trying to accomplish a country’s development ties. Those goals (the MDGs), he emphasized have an impact on youths generally.
PS King noted that many questions are being asked, and in relation to education, he explained that while it is important to youth development much has been achieved in the technological arena which youth have helped to develop.
“Once we look at the issues affecting young people…we would recognize that the way we used to do our youth work will have to be modified in keeping with current trends and practices,” PS King highlighted.
Marianne Flach, UNICEF Representative for Guyana and Suriname, in her presentation pointed out that youths between the ages of 13-24 represent approximately 18 percent (1.2B) of the global population, and in Guyana young people represent over 21 percent of the population.
“Adolescence is an age of opportunity and young are well aware that their future depends not only on what we can do for them but how they can contribute to the society in which they live,” she said. Further the knowledge and skills acquired during adolescence have important implications for the transition from teenage to adulthood.
Flach emphasized that youths must be considered as agents of change and not as mere bystanders who can actively contribute to the development process and can come up with innovative solutions for complex problems.
Regional Director of CYP, Dwynette Eversley in her remarks pointed out that the preparation of a youth policy is not just about writing a document but is a process of collecting data, determining the aspirations of young people, reflecting on international good practices in youth development and prescriptive for youth development that has been adopted by many countries, referencing good practices in the region and finally putting that into a document that is a blue print and frame work so that everyone in youth development will understand that what they are doing is relevant.
She emphasized that one of the tenants of developing a youth policy is that youths are actively involved in the implementation and monitoring and evaluation processes. Importantly, the policy must be able to respond to the needs to the youths.
The day’s activity saw the stakeholders being taken through an overview of the plenary methodology, findings and policy recommendations, validating GYP supports and services and programme delivery, discussions on mainstreaming youth development in Guyana and mechanisms for the GYP and the youth mainstreaming rationale.
Prior to this event a focus group discussion was held at the Ministry’s boardroom which targeted Guyanese based non-profit organizations and youth centered agencies. At that session the participants were able to review and discuss the existing draft of the policy.
While addressing the gathering, Permanent Secretary Alfred King noted that the consultations started in 2013 with support from the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) who provided financial and technical support. The process included regional consultations, Facebook blasts and an online survey. He emphasized that attention is on ensuring that the consultations reach as many youth stakeholders as possible.
The youth policy, when completed, will represent a mainstreamed and integrated policy response to youth transition phases, and will reflect a network and coordinated commitment on matters related to adolescents and youths throughout Guyana.
Upon completion, the Ministry will make recommendations and seek the approval of Cabinet before taking it to Parliament.