The ninth Commonwealth Youth Forum was hosted this year in Sri Lanka, November 10-14 concurrently with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Supported by the Sri Lankan government, Tiffany Daniels and Tricia Teekah of the Interim National Youth Council of Guyana (INYC) were able to join fellow Commonwealth youth leaders, representing Guyana and the Commonwealth Caribbean.
Under the theme: “Inclusive Development-Stronger Together”, the first General Assembly at this forum provided a platform for these youths to debate, agree on, and set policies, programmes, and priorities pertaining to the challenges and opportunities young people face.
Recommendations
Over three days, and going well into the wee hours of the morning, the youth of the Commonwealth engaged in vibrant debates to decide on youth positions on key thematic areas: the post-2015 development agenda; professionalisation of youth work; well-being and economic growth; education fit for purpose; sexual and reproductive health and rights; gender equality; generating quality youth employment; and reconciliation and social cohesion.
These decisions were publicised through a declaration presented to the heads of government by the newly-constituted Commonwealth Youth Council which called upon the heads and the council, as well as the Commonwealth to take some of their recommendations into consideration when developing policies and programming.
Notable among these recommendations was the call for inclusive and relevant education for all young people (specifically girls, persons with learning disabilities and the differently able).
Furthermore, high on the agenda was the importance of the professionalisation and accreditation of non-traditional and non-academic fields, with there being several calls for entrepreneurship and employability skills training which cut across several of these major thematic areas.
As a result, the governments were charged with ensuring that they put mechanisms in place to impart skills to youth which promote job creation rather than just prepare them for job seeking.
The youth leaders also made vital recommendations for the United Nations’ post-2015 development agenda to provide platforms for inclusive youth participation in the formulation process, more specifically youth targets for each goal within the development agenda.
Commitment
The Commonwealth was additionally charged with establishing a Commonwealth Post 2015 Monitoring and Evaluation Group to facilitate youth participation in planning and implementation.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government confirmed their commitment to the well-laid-out points developed within a document which reaffirmed their responsibility of investing in young people by placing them at the centre of sustainable and inclusive development, and generating time and capital into harnessing their leadership and creativity.
The Guyanese delegates seized the opportunity at the forum to engage representatives from youth councils on structure, programmes and network, to strengthen the Guyana Youth Council, which is only at its infancy stage.
The Guyana team will be working closely with the elected regional representative, Royden Beharry and the incoming Caribbean Regional Youth Council that will be launched in December in St Lucia.
