JAMAICA
Youth Development Programmes/Projects and Activities in Jamaica

Jamaica’s efforts in the area of youth development have been quite extensive and inclusive. NGO’s, Government agencies, the church, the family, youth-serving organizations, the private sector, schools, youth clubs, and international partners all play significant roles in the development of youth programmes and activities. This approach has facilitated the development of sound programmes targeting and succeeding in achieving youth development in Jamaica.

National Youth Policy and Inter Ministerial Committee

The National Youth Policy (1994) represented Jamaica’s first comprehensive policy on youth. This was developed from the Draft National Youth Policy (1985) and the 1992 paper, “Vision of Youth.” In 2001, the findings of a review of the current situation among youth and a critique of the 1994 Policy by stakeholders pointed to the need for improvement in the Policy so as to better address the development of youth from a holistic perspective.

As a result, a National Youth Policy Steering Committee with representatives from over thirty organizations was established was established in August 2001 to guide the policy revision process. The process was informed by consultations with youth, youth-serving organizations and local and international development partners. This Policy, while targeting youth, recognizes the need to utilize the life-cycle approach to strengthen the development of Jamaica’s human capital.

According to the National Youth Policy (2003), the vision of the Jamaican youth is: “Jamaican youth realizing our full potential, through access to opportunities, to develop, participate and contribute as responsible citizens, to a peaceful, prosperous and caring society”. The Policy provides a common framework for effectively developing our youth.

The policy has been distributed throughout the country.

In order to lead the process of implementing the National Youth Policy, an Inter Ministerial Committee has been formed, which consists of heads of agencies and administrative heads of Ministries. This committee will oversee the implementation of the National Youth Policy through rationalization and multi-sectoral collaboration within the youth development sector. This will ensure that whatever emerges from this process represents efficient and effective use of resources in the sector and that all categories of youth are covered under Government Programmes.

The National Centre for Youth Development

The National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD), the youth division of the Ministry of Education and Youth has been empowering Jamaican youth in the areas of leadership and entrepreneurship.

The NCYD has initiated and revitalised several programmes to engage both attached and unattached youth to build their capacity to lead, to make informed decisions, to contribute meaningfully to the country as a worker.

One of the vehicles of this thrust is the provision of access to information through the establishment of Youth Information Centres (YICs) across the island and to provide officers who work with these youth in obtaining information on employment and training opportunities: These officers also facilitate the formation and strengthening of youth clubs across the island

Presently, there are three YICs open in the country, but plans are afoot to establish others in various locations across the country.

The Jamaican youth are making full use of the Youth Information Centres, which they have indicated are facilitating their empowerment as they gain critical knowledge on HIV/AIDS, training and education opportunities, employment and entrepreneurship prospects among other things.

One Youth Information Centre has recorded 13, 237 visits since July 2003, while another one has recorded 15, 434 visits for the same period. In the first three months of 2006, for example, one YIC averaged about 2000 visits per month.

The Youth Information Centres have recently been the subject of exploratory research by a group of French Youth Ambassadors and the concept is being considered for replication in other Caribbean islands.

The National Youth Council and Youth Clubs

The National Youth Council (NYC) was established in November 2004. The NYC has been strengthening youth clubs and one of the ways it has been doing this is through the development of income generating projects for youths. Through these projects, young people earn income while honing their leadership skills.

Jamaica has approximately 400 youth clubs that will be receiving subsidies to generate some income. Approximately 100 clubs will receive the first set of grants.

The NYC in Jamaica has been growing in strength as a mechanism to empower and encourage our unattached youth to join a youth club or society. The work of the traditional youth organizations such as the Young Men Christians Association (YMCA), Young Women Christians Association (YWCA), Boys Brigade, Girls Brigade, Girl Guides and the Cadet Corps, is being recognized by the country. These and other youth organizations have gone into inner city communities with their youth development programmes.

The Jamaica Youth Ambassadors Programme

Another area in which our youth have been giving service to their country is through the Jamaica Youth Ambassadors’ Programme (JAYAP). The programme enables youth to become ambassadors to advocate for other young people at the national and international level. This promotes the full participation of young people in decision making at all levels, both locally and internationally. Jamaica’s young people have been representing the country at the UNESCO General Assembly in Paris, the United Nation General Assembly, China, and the Latin America Festival.

The different types of youth ambassadors include: the United Nations Youth Ambassadors, the Commonwealth Youth Ambassadors, the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors and the Ambassadors-at-Large.

JAYAP is also a method by which to develop positive role models for young people in Jamaica. The youth ambassadors are expected to be people in whom other young people can take pride and draw inspiration from their work. It is important to note that while there are already role models in existence in other areas, youth leadership and good citizenship are commonly neglected.

National Secondary Students Council

The National Secondary Students Council (NSSC) is another programme which involves the youth. NSSC is the umbrella organisation for Student Councils in Jamaica and represents over three hundred thousand (300,000) students in approximately one hundred and fifty-five (155) public secondary schools across the island.

Through the intervention of the NCYD, a dormant NSSC was revamped in 2003 and the first national elections were held in April 2003. To date, the participation rate is over 80%. This shows the deepening of the democratic process at this level. Among the activities in which these students have been involved is the mounting of national campaigns against HIV/AIDS, crime and violence among other issues.

Unattached Youth & the National Youth Service

Unattached youth in Jamaica are usually young persons living in dire circumstances with minimal opportunities. They are not involved in any activity that will contribute to their development, including education and employment.

There has been an increased resolve to implement both preventative and corrective measures to stem some of the social problems that have been observed.

The National Youth Service (NYS) programme is designed to re-socialise youth in the age group 17 - 29 to an alternative to crime and violence, unemployment and risky behaviours, even while providing for them opportunities to be re-engaged as contributing members of society.

Training will also be provided for over 300 unattached youth to provide support for youth clubs and other youth organizations. This is in an effort to engage these youth and provide them with the opportunity to engage with their peers, which in turn strengthens these youth clubs.

Jamaica Youth Business Trust

The exceptional creativity of young people in the country has been recognized, especially among those who are called the nexers - the age group after generation X. This group is innovative and possess ideas that they want to use to generate income for both themselves and this country. One avenue of facilitating this is through the Jamaica Youth Business Trust. (JYBT). The Trust aims at working with young people 18-30 to build sustainable businesses using the tried and proved youth entrepreneurship three pronged methodology of start-up capital, business mentoring, with consistent and continuous ongoing business support. The youth business trust concept targets unemployed and underemployed youth who have good business ideas and are about to start their own business, but are unable to get the requisite help and guidance elsewhere.

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