Eye on the Future - Investing in Youth Now for Tomorrow's Community

The Twenty-Seventh Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in July 2006, mandated the establishment of a Commission on Youth Development which was tasked with undertaking “a full scale analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); and making recommendations to improve their well-being and empowerment”. The following beliefs underpinned the Commission’s approach to its mandate: a) regional integration holds the key to the optimal development of the small developing countries of the Community and the regional citizenry; b) the CSME, as a social institution, is heavily dependent on the knowledge, skills, competencies, values and attitudes of young people for successful outcomes; c) young people are an under-utilised resource for the development of Caribbean communities, countries and the Region. The Report argues that young people comprise the sector of the population best positioned by virtue of their creative potential to play the leading role in responding to the challenges of globalisation and, therefore, to the demands of regional integration and the CSME.