Young People To Help Shape New National Youth Policy
Government will engage young people across Trinidad and Tobago in developing a new National Youth Policy, with Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Phillip Watts insisting that they must play a direct role in shaping decisions that affect their future.
Speaking at the National Youth Conference and Exposition at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva on Friday, Minister Watts said the consultation process will give young people an opportunity to contribute directly to the national conversation and help shape the policy.
« That is why we will be engaging young people across Trinidad and Tobago through national consultation and youth steering committees. These committees will create a space for young people to help identify community priorities, raise issues that matter to them. »
The Minister said the policy development process will be supported by efforts to strengthen youth services and expand opportunities for skills training and entrepreneurship.
He also outlined plans to transform youth centres across the country into hubs for learning, innovation and community development.
« Our Youth Centres in St James, Laventille, Los Bajos, and California must become active spaces for learning, creativity, enterprise, and community development. They must be places where young people can access training, develop business ideas, build networks, and discover what they are capable of. »
He added that the Ministry is working to expand opportunities through partnerships with institutions and organisations that provide practical training and certification programmes for young people across the country.
« You want opportunities that can help you build a future. You want skills that employers value. You want certification, you want real experience, you want access to mentors, you want help to start, grow or improve a business. You want to be prepared for a world that is changing quickly. »
He said the effort will be complemented by a Youth Reach Programme, designed to improve access to youth development services by bringing support directly into communities.
« Youth Reach is about taking young development and youth development beyond a building and into the communities. It is about ensuring that youth officers, programmes, and opportunities are easier accessed, more responsive, and more connected to the realities young people face every day. »
The Minister urged young people to participate in the consultation process, saying their experiences, concerns and ideas must help shape the country’s next National Youth Policy.
