The National Youth Service (NYS) summer employment programme is being rebranded, as part of a major thrust by the NYS to reach and empower more young people with its development programmes. Executive Director of the NYS, Melvin Smith, told JIS News that the programme, which seeks to engender professional work and ethical standards in the youth, has been undergoing changes...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, has given the assurance that the Government will make good on its commitment to have all female juveniles removed from the Fort Augusta Correctional Centre by year-end. Speaking at on July 17 Jamaica House press briefing, Minister Bunting said that coming out of discussions with the Commissioner of Corrections, the relocation could be...

Executive Director of the National Youth Service (NYS), Melvin Smith, says the agency is in the process of examining all its programmes, with a view to making them more responsive to industry needs, and assisting young people with developing entrepreneurial skills. “There are not many jobs out there that they can have when they graduate from our programmes, even with...

Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, has expressed strong concern over recent actions taken by civil society group, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), including the posting of a video online, which criticized the treatment of juveniles in detention. Miss Hanna stated that the information is “factually incorrect, intellectually dishonest and over-sensationalised”. She pointed out that it does not take...

The National Family Planning Board (NFPB) is urging parents and guardians to educate their children about safe sexual and reproductive health (SRH) practises, in an effort to effectively tackle adolescent pregnancy. This advice, from Communications Officer/Writer at the NFPB, Racquel Reece, comes as Jamaica joins the rest of the world in observing World Population Day 2013 on Thursday, July 11,...

The scores of Jamaicans, who journeyed to the birthplace of National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Norman Washington Manley in Roxborough, Manchester yesterday (July 4), to celebrate the 120th anniversary of his birth, are welcoming the opening of a permanent exhibition on his life, now located at the site. Constructed at a cost of just under $11 million and funded by...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Ian Hayles, is encouraging young people to think carefully, then make decisions that will advance their lives. Speaking at a RISE Life Management Services awards ceremony for the Inner-City Youth Recycling Income Generation Project competition, on July 3, on East Street, downtown Kingston, Mr. Hayles said...

Children in detention centres, along with their parents, will benefit from counselling workshops being organised by the Ministry of Youth and Culture. The sessions are being planned by a special Children Support Taskforce, consisting of a wide cross section of civil society groups and individuals who have come on board to assist with parenting and other interventions. Convenor of the...