CPFSA Hosts Fifth National Children’s Summit
By: , August 19, 2022
Photo: Mark Bell
PAH! Deaf Dance Company entertains attendees at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency’s fifth National Children’s Summit. The event was held at the National Indoors Sports Centre in Kingston on August 18.
Photo: Mark Bell
Chair, Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) Children’s Advisory Panel (CAP), Jessica Russell, speaks with JIS News during Thursday’s (August 18) National Children’s Summit, held at the National Indoors Sports Centre in Kingston under the theme, ‘Beat the odds, chart your destiny’.
Photo: Mark Bell
Chairman, Violence Prevention Alliance, Elizabeth Ward (right), has the attention of Senior Director, Children’s Affair Policy, Ministry of Education and Youth, Hyacinth Blair (left) and Chief Executive Officer, Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, at the fifth staging of the CPFSA’s National Children’s Summit at the National Indoors Sports Centre in Kingston on Thursday (August 18).
Photo: Mark Bell
Chief Executive Officer, Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Rosalee Gage-Grey, addresses the fifth staging of the CPFSA’s National Children’s Summit at the National Indoors Sports Centre in Kingston on Thursday (August 18).The Full Story
Hundreds of children, mainly wards of the State, converged at the National Indoors Sports Centre on Thursday (August 18) for the fifth staging of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) National Children’s Summit.
The biennial event was conceptualised by the agency’s Children’s Advisory Panel (CAP) in 2014, as a means of increasing interaction with the youngsters the panel represents.
It was last held in 2019 and was delayed to this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The wards, who are between the ages of 12 and 16, travelled from parishes far and near along with their adult chaperones. The summit gave them an opportunity to express their views about their development and that of the nation, while also interacting with peers and developing social skills.
Concurrent sessions held throughout the day focused on cybersecurity, parenting, mental health and stress management, and sexual health and wellness.
There was also a recognition session for Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT) students. Counselling support was also provided by the CPFSA’s ‘Smiles Mobile’ unit.
Chief Executive Officer, CPFSA, Rosalee Gage-Grey, said the biennial event allows the agency to “bring together children from across the island to share on important topics that affect their daily lives while also exposing them to new and innovative ideas and strategies they need to succeed”.
She pointed out that this year’s theme, ‘Beat the odds, chart your destiny’, is not only a call to action for attendees but “it is also a testament to the resilience of change-based organisations like the CPFSA”.
CAP Chairman, Jessica Russell, explained that the summit was intended to give participants a chance to learn about “what it means to be a child in this country”.
The 19-year-old medical student reminded the young wards that “you have rights and the responsibility to speak up when your rights are violated, so that improvements can be made”.
At the end of the summit, a formal declaration report was handed over by the CAP to the CPFSA.
This was followed by an exciting performance from popular reggae and dancehall artiste, Yaksta.