Youth ambassadors receive instruments of office

Twenty-two young persons were presented with instruments of office, to begin their two-year tenure as Youth Ambassadors for Jamaica, on Tuesday February 8.

The Governor-General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, assisted by the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, presented the instruments to the Youth Ambassadors, at the ceremony in the Tea Garden at King’s House.

They were assigned portfolios, including CARICOM, the Commonwealth, the Diaspora, disabilities, disaster management, education, entertainment, gender, Organization of American States (OAU),  values and attitudes, vulnerable youth, youth and agriculture, youth and business and the United Nations.

The Jamaica Youth Ambassador Programme (JaYAP) is a development project of the National Centre for Youth Development, a department of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry, Senator Warren Newby, said the primary aim of JaYAP is to enable youths to represent their peers on the national and international stage.

“This is necessary in order to promote the full participation of young people in decision making at all levels, locally and internationally,” he said.

He noted that young people already have a “distinct presence” in sports and entertainment, adding that Youth Ambassadors would take it to other levels and dimensions of nation building and development.

Senator Newby said Youth Ambassadors have promoted the cause of children living in state homes, and spoken at empowerment and motivational sessions in schools. Additionally, they have advocated for information and awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Jamaica and have held treats across Jamaica.

Youth Ambassadors also sit on various boards, including the Violence Prevention Alliance, Best Communities, UNESCO Advisory Committees on Education, Social and Human Science, Culture, Communication and Information, he stated.

“The Youth Ambassadors are expected to be people to whom their peers can look up to, that adult leaders would listen to, and whose achievements everyone can share and be proud of,” Senator Newby said.                                                                 

CONTACT: E. HARTMAN RECKORD