Youth Ambassadors for Policy Advisory Bodies

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Senator Warren Newby, has informed that during this financial year, the Government would seek to have Youth Ambassadors represented on a wider range of policy advisory bodies.
This, he said, was in order to ensure “that the views of young people are better represented in all areas of government work.”
Senator Newby was making his presentation in the State of the Nation Debate at Gordon House on July 18.He noted that as part of this initiative, the Ambassadors would be engaging in more small-scale activities in schools and communities across the island, so as to increase their visibility among the youth they are serving and to ensure that they are accurately representing the views of a wide cross section of youth.
Senator Newby informed that throughout the past year, Youth Ambassadors had made numerous media appearances, speaking on relevant social issues affecting young persons and said they presently sit on various Boards relevant to the concerns of young people.
The Youth Ambassadors will also be focusing on specific areas of work, which are of great importance to the young people, through increased advocacy, information dissemination and project development and implementation. Some of the key areas include those relating to entrepreneurship, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), self-esteem and the CARICOM Single Market.
In addition, they would also be concentrating on security and the international oil crisis. “Our young people are the ones who will inherit the world’s environmental problem, so it is vital that they start to develop ways to address these themselves,” Senator Newby said.
On another matter, the Parliamentary Secretary informed that the hostel for street boys would be re-opened in September this year.
“This will provide a safe haven for them in the night, particularly those without the necessary family support,” he explained.