Jamaica’s Vision 2030 Gets a Youthful Boost

In a step towards bridging the gap between policy and youth development, young people from diverse backgrounds have been included in the decision-making in relation to aspects of the Vision 2030 National Development Plan.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Youth, recently launched the Vision 2030 Youth Thematic Working Group (TWG) with a targeted focus on youth development.

The PIOJ serves as the institutional home for the Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat.

Speaking to JIS News, Lead Coordinator of the TWG and Localisation Officer at PIOJ, Samantha Wilmot, notes that while there are TWGs in various areas including social protection, climate change, and sports, the need for a group that deals specifically with youth development was identified.

“Youth are being deemed key stakeholders in development now, so we have to have a consultative body based on engagements with other young persons, where that body is specific to youth development,” Ms. Wilmot says.

A TWG is a consultative body that coordinates, monitors and evaluates the implementation of programmes and projects directed at Vision 2030 Jamaica.

The Youth TWG will serve as the consultative body that will coordinate and monitor the strategic national development priorities specific to youth development.

The group consists of a chair, co-chair, the Vision 2030 Secretariat and the members.

The Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat serves as the TWG Secretariat, which handles administration.

The TWG functions as a collaborative effort among various stakeholders, including representatives from the Jamaican diaspora and international partners.

North East-Regional Coordinator for the Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students (JUTS), Natalia Burton, who participated in the launch, says she is excited about the diverse backgrounds of the TWG members.

She believes more meaningful outcomes will be achieved.

“I think we have definitely come a far way in … shifting towards meaningful youth engagement, so to see that they have included persons with disabilities, persons from areas outside of the Corporate Area or outside of Kingston and just to see how diverse the persons in the Thematic Working Group are, that is definitely very exciting,” she says.

Ms. Burton underscores the importance of having young people with various perspectives and experiences and “different struggles who now are going to be able to voice their opinions and suggestions.”

She anticipates “more meaningful outcomes will be achieved through having a diverse panel of youth supporting the TWG’s effort.”

The launch served as a consultative process, in which young people were asked to share their thoughts on the most important youth-related issues.

This information was collected and will be included in the TWG’s working plan over the next three months to address concerns.

In addition, the TWG will meet to discuss how to incorporate these youth issues in the Medium-Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF), which guides the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

In her call to action, Miss Burton encourages young people to tap into their individual power, get active and inspire others.

“Every young person has a set of issues that they’re passionate about and everybody has a platform. If you are seeing something in your community or school that you want to have changed, you can mobilise people to do something. The more you start to actively get out there and do things, the more you will also meet persons who are doing the same things, and you are able to learn from them, be inspired by them and inspire others. So, I would encourage everyone to tap into their individual power,” she says.

Ms. Wilmot says young people must take responsibility for their own development and that of the community and country.

“Even though you might see yourself in a vacuum, it is not so. You are very important to the process, and we need your partnership for Vision 2030 and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to happen. Whether you are at the implementation table or not, every action counts,” she points out.

The Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan (NDP) is Jamaica’s long-term strategic plan.

It is aligned with the SDGs of the United Nations (UN), which provide a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

For more details, visit the website of Vision 2030 Jamaica at https://www.vision2030.gov.jm/.

You can also watch and learn more about the launch of the Youth TWG on PIOJ’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5zcnSXMQd8 ).