Youth Minister Welcomes New Research Project

KINGSTON — The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon Olivia Grange, says the Government remains committed to supporting the role of research, in crafting and implementing policies for optimum participation of Jamaica’s youth in national development.  

The Minister’s message was conveyed to participants in a Community Research Workshop, by Dr. Wayne Vernon, Executive Director of the Social Development Commission (SDC), at the Trench Town Community Centre, Kingston on Wednesday (October, 19).

The Minister’s message stated that the Government’s commitment was reflected in the promulgation of the National Youth Policy, the National Sports Policy and the Street Youth Policy.

“These policies are designed to reflect the involvement of our youth, as participants and beneficiaries, in the process of national development,” the message said.

The workshop was convened by the Council for Voluntary Social Services (CVSS)/United Way of Jamaica, in collaboration with the Social Work Unit of the University of the West Indies (UWI). The first of its kind in Jamaica, it was designed to provide “an unexplored opportunity” to focus attention on research being done for and by the voluntary sector.

The organizers explained that an important focus was the engagement of the country’s youth, especially tertiary students, “who will likely welcome the opportunity to share their ideas and acknowledge the support of the voluntary sector”.

The key objective to encourage the use of evidence and data in decision-making in the sector, and to document approaches which have yielded results.

Keynote speaker, Professor Salome Raheim, Dean of the School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, USA, while emphasizing the importance of culture and context in research, warned against the dangers of “cultural imperialism”, in the process.

The inaugural workshop is one of the activities designed to commemorate the 70th anniversary of CVSS, as well as the observance of the Social Work Unit’s 50th anniversary.

By Allan Brooks, JIS Senior Reporter