Guyanese youth are being encouraged to join their counterparts around the Caribbean in a series of online discussions ahead of the launch of the United Nations Development Programme Youth-IN portal on Wednesday.According to a UNDP press release, the interactive online discussions will take place under the banner, ‘Are you in or are you out? Join Youth-IN!’ and will feature regional pioneers and prominent exponents of art, culture, media and politics. The discussions will be streamed live on both youth-in.com and its Facebook page (facebook.com/youthinnovation). The first discussion will begin at 11 am tomorrow and is titled: ‘Young people this, young people that: what the media say about youth!’. The discussion will be led by two young media leaders – Vincentian Clare Keizer, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Searchlight newspaper and St Lucia’s Clinton Reynolds, who is the president of the Media Association of St Lucia. The second discussion, which seeks to answer the question, ‘Is Caribbean Politics an Old Man’s Game?’, will begin at 3 pm tomorrow and will feature President of the Barbadian Senate, Kerryann Ifill and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment in Jamaica, Damion Crawford, the release said. The third discussion will feature Marlon Grant and well as internationally renowned saxophonist Auturo Tappin on the topic:
‘Ain’t No Business Like Show Business: The Life And Trials Of A Cultural Entrepreneur’. It will be held on Tuesday beginning at 3 pm, the release said, while urging young people around the region to join in online, ask questions and share their views. Meanwhile, UNDP said, the launch of its Youth-In portal takes place on Wednesday and among the speakers will be Former Ms Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam and Barbados’ Minister of Culture and Youth Stephen Lashley. The launch is set for the UN headquarters in Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados. Entrepreneur and Creative Director of Island People in Trinidad, Dr Paula Hidalgo-Sanchis, UNDP’s Youth-IN project coordinator, said the interactive discussions tied in perfectly with the project’s mission.
“We’re really excited about this because Youth-IN is all about young Caribbean people being involved, being invested and participating in their development. So what better way to get young people engaged than to seek out their opinions on the issues that affect them? It’s even more exciting since our panellists embody the Youth-IN ethos because they are already deeply involved in changing their communities and their industries,” the release quoted her as saying. The UNDP’s Project Youth Innovation aims to get young Caribbean people involved in their societies and to get their societies invest in them. The project evolved out of a 2010 Caricom Youth Commission report: ‘Eye on the Future: Investing in YOUTH NOW for Tomorrow’s Community’ which showed the challenges of Caribbean youth and the costs to Caribbean society of not investing in youth. The multi-faceted project which is at work in 20 Caribbean countries, gives young people several platforms from which they can change the world in their own way. The project has five main ‘corners’ – arts and culture, volunteerism, the Youth-In Think Tank, entrepreneurship and participation. Each of these corners has several different projects under it that are intended to engage young Caribbean people in a variety of ways. The website www.youth-in.com is a resource for young Caribbean people which has all of the information and news on the initiatives being pursued under the various corners and also highlights the accomplishments of positive Caribbean youth.
