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Molding the Future: UNESCO supports the Caribbean Youth Summit 2023
On 22 – 25th November 2023, the Caribbean Youth Summit 2023 focused on ‘Securing Our Future: Youth Co-Creating a Peaceful and Sustainable Caribbean Community.’, was held at the AC Hotel Merriott in Kingston, Jamaica.
Convened by the CARICOM Secretariat, with the participation of multiple UN Agencies including UNWomen, UNFPA and UNDP as well as national institutions such as the Ministry of Education and Youth, this year’s summit empowered youth to address and mitigate community violence, gender-based violence, while also looking at sexual, reproductive, and mental health issues through capacity development sessions as well as panel discussions. The Summit provided a safe platform for young people to share their experience, good practices on peace, security, safety, and sustainable development in the Caribbean to create a rippling effect.
Youth were upskilled in developing and advancing recommendations for strengthening policies and programmes that address gender-based violence, safety and security, and mental health in the region. The efforts of the Summit aligned to achieve Goal #5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (achieve gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and any harmful practices against women and girls), and the CARICOM Youth Development Goals.
Privileged to partake in the 2023 edition of The Caribbean Youth Summit, the experience has been nothing short of transformative. Partnering with exemplary youth developers across the region who embody the essence of a 'force for good' has been exhilarating. The invaluable lessons gained here will undoubtedly mold the leader I aspire to become. I urge fellow young individuals to 'Take Up Space,' asserting yourselves in your communities, as we all bear a civic duty to tend to the needs of the spaces we inhabit.
The UNESCO Office for the Caribbean was also integral, delivering a workshop on Empowering Youth during the weeklong session. Paula Isturiz Cavero, Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences delivered a “YOUth Power for Peace in the Caribbean” workshop which focused on non-formal education methods to help young people leverage their power to build peaceful and inclusive societies in the Caribbean, reaching over 60 youth from across the region. Youth participants were asked to visualize what power meant to them by making group statues, and this illustrated how power can be interpreted differently. The training covered pillars of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, and also provided tools for youth to tap into their collective power for advocacy and strengthening participation in decision-making, particularly as it relates to violence reduction.
UNESCO’s Youth Trainer, Antonette Dennis also facilitated a training workshop on Meaningful Youth Engagement. The training based on the tool of “Meaningfully engaging with Youth” from UNESCO’s Toolbox for Youth Policy and Programming was utilized to sensitize youth on the nuances of meaningful youth engagement at all levels. Group discussions explored the characteristics of youth, engagements and the distinctions between meaningful engagement and tokenism. The groups presented their own project ideas emphasizing practical approaches to genuinely involving youth in meaningful initiatives.
