Dr Heather Johnson, Caricom Secretariat Deputy Programme Manager, Youth Development, was decorated in the Order of Grand Officer of the Yellow Star of the Republic of Suriname by the Government of Suriname, last week, said a press release from the Caricom Secretariat at Turkeyen.
The honour was conferred during the closing ceremony of the two-day Caricom-Unasur High Level Youth Exchange hosted by Suriname’s President, Desire Delano Bouterse, from June 14 to June 15.
The High Level Youth Exchange brought together more than 70 youth leaders from Caricom and the Union of South American Countries (Unasur) to develop a framework for cooperation between young people of both regions and to build leadership capacity and explore solutions to the many issues and challenges which youth of the two regions might have in common.
The meeting spawned a framework for a regional youth policy and deepened relations between both regions.
In conferring the National Honour, the Government of Suriname cited Dr Johnson as “the oldest youth in the region,” noting that “this appellation is one born of the fact that throughout the years she has engaged intimately with youth throughout the region and the full range of issues that attend their development.
“She took the time to learn the youth language of the day, shared in their joys as well as their pain in both work-related and social settings and she is recognised and loved for this.”
The citation also noted that Dr Johnson “…has a lucid vision for youth development and the pivotal role of youth in the regional integration movement.”
In accepting the honour, Dr Johnson simply stated that whatever she had accomplished over the 15 years, she did so, in the interest of developing the region’s youth and consequently, the region.
Dr Johnson’s signal achievements include the resuscitation of the Caricom Youth Ambassador Programme, the development of the Regional Strategy for Youth Development, the coordination of the work of the Caricom Commission on Youth Development- CCYD and most recently, the development of the Caricom Youth Development Action Plan and Youth Development Goals, based on the Declaration of Paramaribo on the Future of Youth in the Caribbean Community.
These are all initiatives which she has led and has worked effectively with member states, youth and development partners to bring to fruition, the release added.
Suriname has portfolio responsibility for Youth in the Caricom Quasi-Cabinet.
