The Caribbean must put its faith in young people if the region seeks to be at forefront of innovation and growth, writes Deputy Secretary-General Deodat Maharaj
The challenges the Caribbean faces are many and multifaceted. The region is too reliant on a handful of industries and export products and remains vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. Factor in other development constraints, such as rising crime and the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases including heart disease and obesity, and the picture looks grim.
Any astute policy maker knows that, in order to succeed and overcome such challenges, an economy must leverage the sum total of its national resources. With over 60 per cent of the Caribbean’s population aged 29 or under, we are remiss if we do not recognise the huge asset that young people represent. And yet, the Caribbean’s utilisation of this asset is sub-optimal.
The Youth Development Index, launched by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2013, classifies young people in Caribbean countries in the middle range of development. No country from the region is in the top 20 global rankings. Young people are feeling the squeeze in the labour market, with youth unemployment levels among the highest in the world. In short, too few young people are playing their full part in growth or enjoying the fruits of prosperity.
Just 18 per cent of new and emerging businesses are owned by young people in the Caribbean and Latin America – a far cry from trailblazing Africa with 30 per cent youth-owned businesses. Yet we all know that entrepreneurship makes a huge contribution towards wealth creation and poverty reduction. For young people, it is the key driver to developing human capital and promoting sustainable development.
The benefits reaped from investing in the education and training of young people range from increased productivity, lower health costs and enhanced social capital, as well as greater resilience to cope with risks and shocks. According to UNESCO, for every US$1 spent on education of young people, as much as US$10 to US$15 can be generated in economic growth.
Policy priorities such as these are on the agenda in St John’s for the Caribbean Region Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting, hosted this week by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. The theme of this three-day, high-level conference is ‘Youth Participation at the Heart of National Development’. It is a theme which underlines an approach to policy making that places young people at its centre, not at its fringes.
On Tuesday, the opening day, representatives from national youth councils and other youth-led organisations in the Commonwealth addressed responses to youth employment and entrepreneurship, as well other issues, such as: youth participation in democratic processes, the role of young people in peace building, and the professionalisation of the youth work sector.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Ministers and senior officials will listen to the views of young people, and look at how to develop effective policies for the present and future. Working together, Caribbean governments and young people increasingly understand that the demographic reality of the region means that successful development hinges on investing in young people. The leaders in St John’s acknowledge that this cohort should be included in decisions affecting human and socio-economic development.
There are innumerable examples of youth role models around the Caribbean, usually unheralded, who should be recognised as positive leaders and agents of change. These adolescents and young adults are playing a vital role in strengthening society and deserve the opportunity to participate fully and meaningfully in decision making.
As a pragmatic measure to unleash young people’s potential, the Commonwealth has made concerted efforts to encourage and support young entrepreneurs. These young people include Nolana Lynch, from Trinidad and Tobago, whose eco-friendly skin and hair care enterprise earned her a 2015 Commonwealth Youth Award.
But as the number of young entrepreneurs grows, so does the need for a stronger, more unified voice to articulate their needs and recommendations. This is why we have supported the establishment of a Caribbean chapter of the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs, to connect and unify young businesswomen and businessmen across the region.
Next week the Commonwealth Secretariat will present the initial findings of a ‘Caribbean 2050 Vision Project’ at the Forum on the Future of the Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago. The research, which looks at current trends in metrics such as crime and violence and energy security, shows that, unless we take concerted action, the future for our beloved region and for our young people looks less than bright.
In summary, we face a stark choice. As a family of 12 Commonwealth Caribbean nations, we must put our faith in youth if we seek to be at forefront of innovation and growth for the decades to come. It is this belief that underpins the Commonwealth’s overarching theme for 2015: ‘A Young Commonwealth’, which celebrates the capacity, contribution and potential of this generation.
Young people are assets to national development: citizens, leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, custodians and partners; not only of tomorrow, but of today. If we, in the Caribbean, adopt a course correction, and give young people a central role in national life, we can yet emerge by 2050 as a strong and resilient region.
