History was made when the third Caribbean Youth Leaders Summit recently held in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, elected the first ever executive of the newly-constituted Caribbean Regional Youth Council (CRYC).
Continuing the work that began at the previous summits in Barbados (2011) and Jamaica (2012), youth leaders took concerted steps towards strengthening their national youth organisations and charting a path towards a regional youth governance mechanism.
The revision and discussion of the progress and outputs of the previous summits culminated in the creation of the CRYC and the signing and unanimous ratification of its constitution.
The summit was held from December 4 to 6. The final day was reserved for a stakeholders’ forum which saw the inclusion of key stakeholders.
Through a process which was conducted by officers from the Electoral Department of St Lucia, the 12 official Caribbean delegates cast their vote by secret ballot, to elect the first executive of the CRYC.
Timothy Ferdinand of St Lucia National Youth Council was elected chairman; Tiffany Daniels of the Guyana Interim National Youth Council as vice chairperson for membership and partnerships; Shanice Webb of the Trinidad Youth Council as vice chairperson for resource mobilisation; Michael Xavier of the Guyana Interim National Youth Council as vice chairperson for advocacy and policy; Farmala Jacobs of the Antigua National Youth Ambassador Corps as board member for training and development; and Nadege Roach of the National Youth Council of Dominica as board member for communications and information.
Words of encouragement were offered to the newly-elected executive by one of the CRYC’s chief architects, Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre Programme Manager Dwynette Eversley.
Eversley urged the new executive to continue justifying the investment made in them by committing themselves to building a strong regional youth network which was inclusive, representative and addressed issues related to all Caribbean youth.
These sentiments were also echoed by the outgoing Interim Steering Committee Chairman Jason Francis, who reminded the delegates of the critical role they play in improving the quality of life for youth across the Caribbean.
In his first official address, CRYC Chairperson Timothy Ferdinand expressed gratitude to the youth delegates and organisations at the summit and pledged to make the necessary commitments and sacrifices to see the CRYC become a successful pan-Caribbean organisation.
