The Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry with support from the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Guyana have undertaken the task of revising a National Youth Policy for Guyana.
As previous newspaper articles would have mentioned, the consultant advising the process is aiming to complete the policy by year-end. The policy will be supplemented with a strategic implementation plan, inclusive of a monitoring and evaluation framework that identifies clear activities, actions, goals and timelines.
The consultant is being assisted by two broad base national committees: a National Stakeholders Committee (NSC) and a National Youth Steering Committee (NYSC). The NSC is comprised of various stakeholders, formed with the purpose to oversee and advise the formulation, technical input and implementation of the policy. On the other side, the NYSC provides support to the consultant and facilitate youth participation and inclusion throughout the process, but more so, to engage and inform the young population.
The members were selected from across Guyana and comprise a diverse background of skills and professional areas, including, but not limited to, the following areas: (one) youth work; (two) private sector and (three) national development planning.
Regional consultations
Before commencing regional consultations, the members of the NYSC and youth officers attended a participatory learning and assessment training, to understand the various methods and materials used to collect data. One of the most interactive and enlightening session was drafting in groups, a vision and mission statement; it was inspiring!
Currently, the National Youth Steering Committee is in the process of completing the data collection, having travelled around Guyana for the past four weeks, conducting focus group sessions, consultations and administration of questionnaires. In addition to data already gathered, the consultant will also use a white paper that was done in 2011 on the National Youth Policy, and be guided by research and good practice from reports published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CARICOM and UNICEF on young people in Guyana and the Caribbean, as well as global youth policy.
Consultant of the youth policy Dereck Alleyne of Barbados began his long career in youth work in Guyana, as a resident of the Commonwealth Diploma Programme in Youth Work. He has worked with several Caribbean countries in developing national youth policies, including Anguilla, Dominica and Barbados. More recently, he chaired the National Committee charged with formulating a youth policy for Barbados. This policy was approved by the Parliament in May. He has professional qualification in planning and social development.
Guiding document
The big question though, is what is a National Youth Policy? Many say it is a signal of the government’s commitment to the young population, and a practical framework for national youth development, that is, providing a conducive environment and opportunities for the country’s young people to grow and reach their full potential.
In other words, a document developed to guide priority intervention by the state and other key stakeholders to youth development, participation and involvement in productive national life.
The youth policy is sometimes referred to as a “cross-sectoral policy”, that is, coordination of the policy in different sectors, as well as an “integrated policy” where the government’s actions and measures in these different areas must be coordinated into one comprehensive strategy. A youth policy is different from public policies, in that, it touches upon many public policy areas. Hence, it is essential that the different government agencies and departments be involved in the drafting and implementation process.
The policy defines who is a young person, often times premised on age, ability, status and behaviour. It is not determined biologically but as youth policies’ manuals explain, the concept of youth is socially constructed, and differs with time and the socio-economic development of a society.
