Youth Forum

A written National Youth Policy, a collectively approved framework for action on youth development, which is endorsed by a nation’s law-makers, is the greatest gift that a society could bequeath to its youth.

This document starts with the renewal of a political commitment to creating the conditions for youth empowerment during the far-reaching economic and social changes of the first decade of the 21st century.

The document then offers an overview of the context in which young people have been coming of age in the Caribbean during the past two decades. It contends that this understanding of youth is necessary before any intervention takes place. Hence, a working definition of youth is given, together with the perennial, poor perceptions of “the next generation”.

It is with this perception of youth that Youth Services in Barbados and through the Caribbean have developed. The apparent preoccupation with deviant youth and the mistakes that a minority of young men and women make during the transition from childhood to adulthood, has cast a long shadow over youth development in the region.

Hence several writers have reached conclusions about young people that detract from an understanding of youth as an age of experiment, an age of idealism and an age of discovery. The unwritten policy throughout the Caribbean has therefore been to contain and control youth, “for their own good”. In this way, Caribbean societies have succeeded in reproducing themselves with all the punitive and enslaving historical baggage for which they are renowned.

The premise behind this document is that the majority of Barbadian youth are decent hard-working people striving to live up to the expectations of significant others in their lives. When they were consulted and fully engaged during 2010, the mood shifted from one of “hopelessness and despair” to optimism and a willingness to take responsibility for their own future. Their aspirations are clearly expressed in the Vision, Goals, Objectives and Recommendations for action recorded in this document. These hopes and dreams of Barbadian youth were considered in light of the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth, the National Strategic Plan of Barbados, and the more recent Medium Term Development Strategy. It was found that these aspirations of youth were consistent with these national strategies: but in the present global economic downturn, their pursuit would be constrained by fiscal considerations. On the other hand there were moral imperatives as well as universally acclaimed human and youth rights that impelled a caring and responsible Government to address the needs of youth urgently. Something had to be done in a situation that was creating new challenges for youth, such as high levels of unemployment despite the achievement of higher education.

The Vision, Goals, and Objectives of contemporary youth, that form a significant part of this document, also clearly identified the Key strategy areas for intervention. These areas are:

Employment
Education
The Family
Core Values
Gangs
Housing
Lifestyle Diseases
Political Participation
The Environment

Before considering intervention the Government endorsed the rights of youth. However, any contract with young men and women would require a reciprocal acceptance of responsibility on the part of youth. That responsibility was defined in terms of taking some responsibility for their own development and voluntarily rendering service to their community.

Another precondition for successful intervention was the identification of priority target groups. This document makes a major departure from conventional analyses by including “mainstream youth” in the list of youth target groups. It argues that since the world has changed, since the goal posts have been moved, mainstream youth should also change direction in order to achieve their goals.

The chosen mechanisms for achieving these goals and realizing the vision were:

An Inter-Ministerial Committee for Youth Development
The Youth Development Board
The National Youth Service
The National Youth Forum
An Expanded Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme
Holiday Camps
The National Sports Council
The Constituency Councils
Barbados Youth Development Council
The National Youth Parliament

Due consideration was given to the operating costs of implementing the National Youth Policy. The primary constraint would be the resources allocated to the Ministry of Family,  Culture, Sports and Youth in the current financial year. However, it has been repeatedly stated that an essential principle of this new National Youth Policy is collaboration. All stakeholders from other Government Departments to the private sector and civil society organizations are expected to make a contribution in one form or another.

A preliminary action plan has been suggested, which, when agreed, would determine the cost of implementing the National Youth Policy in the given time. The expected outcome of this intervention by the Government is the triggering of a youth movement manifesting itself in an increasing number of projects and programmes run by public and private sector organizations. These initiatives should contribute to the wholesome development of young men and women and their successful transition to adulthood.

N.B: The complete Draft National Youth Policy can be found at
www.nationalyouthforum.org

In conclusion a list of strategies has been drawn up with specified targets. This should aid the periodic monitoring and evaluation of the new National Youth Policy of Barbados.

National Youth Policy of Barbados (30 March 2011)
 National Youth Policy of Barbados (30 March 2011)