Senator points to many achievements in youth empowerment

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Senator Warren Newby, says there are many achievements in the area of youth empowerment to celebrate this November, which is being observed as Youth Month.
Speaking at the official launch of Youth Month, at Campion College, on November 1, Senator Newby pointed to the introduction of the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), which was launched earlier this year.
He said the programme aims to enroll at least 30,000 young persons in training programmes within secondary schools, who would have otherwise ended up among Jamaica’s growing unattached youth population.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Senator Warren Newby (centre), and Executive Director of the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning, Dr. Alison Cross (right), show keen interest in what Opposition Spokesperson on Youth and Information, Lisa Hanna, has to say, at the launch of Youth Month 2010, at Campion College in St. Andrew, on November 1.

Another achievement was in the area of youth advocacy, through the revival of the National Youth Council this year, the Parliamentary Secretary added.
“We have produced, after maybe 50 years of its existence, a Constitution. We have done an audit of all community-based youth organisations which has placed us in a position to develop a policy for engagement of these entities by the Government of Jamaica,” he explained.
Senator Newby said parish elections are currently underway and will culminate in national elections on November 27, where a national executive body will be selected.
He spoke of the revamping of the Youth Ambassadors Programme and the provision of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) facilities through Youth Information Centres being built across the island. He added that the Ministry is also seeking to revise the National Youth Policy.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Senator Warren Newby (left), interacts with Director of the National Transformation Programme (NTP), Fabian Brown (centre), and Director of Communication at the NTP, Michael Aiken, at the launch of Youth Month 2010, at Campion College in St. Andrew, on November 1. The month is being observed under the theme: ‘Jamaican Youth: Organising, Integrating and Participating for Development’.

“The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has signed a contract to undertake the National Youth Survey. The National Youth Programmatic Inventory is already (underway), through collaboration with the University of the West Indies, and later this year we will be launching what we call value streaming in sports, to use sports as a vehicle to inculcate the values as espoused under the National Transformation Programme,” he informed.
Senator Newby also said the Ministry is making strides in its promotion of youth entrepreneurship with the Development Bank of Jamaica pumping $19 million into the Jamaica Youth Business Trust. He said the Ministry is also currently revamping the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme.
This year, Youth Month is being observed under the theme: ‘Jamaican Youth: Organising, Integrating and Participating for Development’. The activities for the month will begin on November 4 with a Behaviour Change Communication Workshop in St. Mary at the Islington High School.
A Youth Gospel Explosion will be held on November 6 in Water Square in Falmouth, Trelawny, and on November 17, International Students Day will be celebrated in the form of a Youth Rally and Conference at the Vere Technical High School in Clarendon.
A Street Youth Stakeholders’ Consultation Day will be held in Kingston on November 19, while the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence will be held on November 28 at Emancipation Park.
The month of activities will end with a community project at the Muirton Boys’ Home in Portland on December 5, which will be observed as International Volunteers’ Day.