Some 30 government and non-governmental organisations came together yesterday to promote youth employment under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport for the celebration of International Youth Day.
International Youth Day was celebrated under the theme, ‘The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production’ and several “youth-friendly” activities were organized yesterday.
The hosting of a ‘Youth Village,’ at the National Cultural Centre tarmac, was one of the several activities held yesterday.
Director of Youth at the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Carmichael related that with unemployment being a “big thing” in Guyana, the ministry chose to create an environment where young people could interact with major organizations for guidance in future careers.
“…We are trying to provide an environment where they can interface directly with these persons and gain as much knowledge on the enterprise as possible and also knowledge of what’s happening in the job market,” Carmichael explained.
This, she said, would also allow the youth to be able to recognize what they need in terms of training and education when pursuing their careers. She said participants seemed very receptive to the information that was made available to them by the different organizations.
“I know a lot of them would have signed up with the army and a number would have signed up with the police while others collected forms from other organizations and that’s a good thing,” she said.
Meanwhile, Carmichael also revealed plans to launch a database where youth can access information regarding available vacancies at varying originations across the country.
She also commented on the department’s Youth Walk earlier yesterday morning and the Youth Concert, intended to showcase the talents possessed by the youth in Guyana.
Describing it as a “grand day,” Carmichael related that the walk had garnered the support of more than twenty youth groups, who were accompanied by ministerial representatives including Minister in the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry, who has responsibility for the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) report, Henry, who offered brief remarks at the walk, said that International Youth Day focuses on the rights of young people to have full access to education, adequate health care, employment opportunities and financial services.
According to GINA, the minister also spoke of the draft National Youth Development Policy that entails a strategic blueprint to see youth development in Guyana, that was recently laid in the National Assembly.
Under the policy, she was quoted as saying, “a number of training programmes aimed at empowering our youth economically, politically and socially have already been conducted in various parts of the country and attended by youths from almost every region.”
She went on to charge the youth audience to work towards becoming empowered as it is when young people are empowered, that they will be able to play a meaningful role in building strong and inclusive communities.
Additionally, she reminded them that the youth of today face more serious problems than those of previous generations and, therefore, her ministry recognizes that a lot of effort is needed to make youth aware of their hidden potential; something that can be discovered once they are given the necessary exposure and training.
