REPORT

ON

YOUTH DIALOGUE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Castries, Saint Lucia

25^th – 27^th October 2004

Youth Visioning participants

INTRODUCTION

Within the framework of the United Nations’ International Meeting on the Ten-Year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA) for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to be held in Mauritius from 7^th -12^th January 2005, UNESCO has mounted a programme entitled Youth Visioning for Island Living. The purpose of this programme is to ensure that young people are fully involved in the review of the BPOA and its future implementation, by articulating how they want their islands to develop in the future and how they plan to make this happen.

In preparation for this event, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with other stakeholders hosted a two-day Youth Dialogue for Sustainable Development. The goals of this Youth Dialogue were to (1) collaborate at a regional level to create awareness among youth on the Small Island Developing States Programme of Action and (2) facilitate preparations by Caribbean youth for the “Youth Visioning for Island Living” event to be held at the International Meeting in Mauritius in January 2005. The preparatory Youth Dialogue meeting is a vital step towards the overall Youth Visioning initiative and is a very important event for the Caribbean region as it allows youths to engage in discussions at the local and regional level and better prepare them for the international discussions that will take place in Mauritius. It should be noted that this Youth Dialogue also served to create awareness among youth about the upcoming Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Youth from thirteen (13) countries from the Caribbean were in attendance. (See Annex 1 for “List of Participants”.) The UNESCO Office for the Caribbean in Kingston, Jamaica funded this activity which was placed within the context of the upcoming Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The Youth Dialogue was held at Villa Santa Maria, Castries, Saint Lucia from 25^th to 27^th October 2004.

MEETING

Official Opening Ceremony

An official Opening Ceremony took place on Tuesday 25^th October from 5 p.m. and was followed by an ice-breaker.

During this ceremony, some time was dedicated to emphasize awareness of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-20014), stressing the importance of education in order to facilitate adaptation to this rapidly changing world. Participants were also reminded that education is at the base of Sustainable Development and only education can provide the skills and motivation for transforming the lives of peoples and societies. Participants were invited to pay special attention to the key action themes that UNESCO will be focusing on during this Decade and incorporate them into their discussions over the two days.

Day one

Introductory Session

The facilitator of this two-day activity (see Annex 1), Mr. David Popo, Programme Officer, OECS – Environment and Sustainable Development Unit, began the session by encouraging participants to actively engage in the discussions that would take place during the meeting. He also reminded the countries’ delegates that this dialogue was an ideal forum for getting youth from small island states of the Caribbean to exchange their views and explore ways to work together in order to achieve sustainable development at both the national and regional levels.

Mr. Popo presented the format of the meeting and introduced the various presenters. This session was intended to place this Youth Dialogue in a global context to enable participants to better understand the underlying concepts and prepare them for the follow-up discussions and recommendations.

The OECS representative, Mr. Peter A. Murray, Programme Officer, OECS – Environment and Sustainable Development Unit, gave a overview of the process for the review of the Small Island Developing States Programme of Action.

Dr Gillian Cambers, Global Coordinator, Small Islands Voice, UNESCO, gave a brief presentation on the development of the concept of Small Islands States programme of action.   Participants were also briefed on the process of the Bahamas Declaration for Youth Visioning. 

In concluding this session, Mr Popo urged participants to continue to reflect on identifying issues and feasible activities that would be reflective of the Caribbean environment.

Technical Session

The focus of this session was on information sharing. Each country gave a five-minute presentation briefly describing some of the ongoing activities and projects in their respective countries. The main issues presented were as follows:

ANGUILLA

• Erection of a monument recognizing persons who made contributions to the development of the country. 
• Construction of a golf course and tennis academy on the island
• Reorganizing of the National Youth Council
• Promoting eco-tourism as part of island tour to promote the cultural and social attributes

ANTIGUA

• Unemployment on the island has increased and has forced persons to take the initiative in developing employment opportunities
• National clean-up campaigns supported by private and public corporations.
• Enforcement of fines for littering
• Establishment of cricket and golf academy
• Construction of new cricket stadium
• Introduction of “Hello Tourist” school-based tourist education programme
• Awareness development of taxi drivers on eco-tourism issues
• Development of fresh water fishing

ARUBA

• Sewage water project to stop disposal of sewer into the sea. Sewer water to be recycled for use by golf parks for example.
• Reducing number of dumps on the island from two to one.  Waste products to be recycled.
• Monitoring of water and air on the island.
• Enlightening the youth and encouraging them to participate in national issues

BAHAMAS

• Educational programmes to develop the knowledge and skills of young persons on issues of the environment
• Bahamas National Trust established discovery which aims at teaching young people to respect for others, nature, environment through camps and tours of heritage sites
• Community service projects such as clean-up campaigns, care of elderly etc, involving young  and the police.
• Construction of eco-tourism resorts on the islands.

BARBADOS

• Caribbean Youth Symposium
• Develop sequel on environmental issues
• Magazine to educate youth on culture
• Develop educational youth-friendly booklets on sustainable issues
• Beach clean-up

BONAIRE

• Implementation of projects which encourage partnerships between youth and adults to conduct research in archeology, science, for example
• Publicizing of findings in the media
• School drop outs paid to return to school
• After-school supervision activities including sports
• YSAP project

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLAND

• Educating community on sustainable development
• Creation of a National Environmental Education Unit supported by government
• Summer programmes for youth on environmental issues
• Focus group discussions
• Training in sustainable development issues
• Public service announcements on sustainable development practices

DOMINICA

• Showcase of Dominican culture
• World Creole music festival
• National Youth Consultations

JAMAICA

• Restoration of water sheds
• Relocation of residents above water shed areas
• Reforestation of water shed areas
• White river project aimed at assessing water quality
• Education activities through poster, essay and talent competitions

ST KITTS

• Development of a National Environment Strategy Plan
• Establishment of Parks and Beaches programmes (Ways)
• Improvement of water and electricity distribution
• Reorganizing of tourist authority in Ministry of Tourism
• Stimulating youth involvement in tourism activity

SAINT LUCIA

This presentation was a collaborative effort of organizations represented at the meeting:

The Saint Lucia National Youth Council has been engaged in the following activities:

• Promotion of Heritage Tourism
• HIV/AIDS Mobile Resource Units
• TIE-DIE, HIV/AIDS Group: Awareness and Education using Theater and Drama in Education
• Canaries Community Radio/ Young Parents
• Junior Youth Development Officers Project/Youth Apprenticeship Programme
• Formulation of a National Youth Policy
• Implementation of a National Youth Policy Action Plan
• CSME and Market Access/Engagement of Youth Business ownership

The St Lucia Mission of Seven Day Adventist Youth (SDA Youth) focusses on the following issues:

• Illicit Drug abuse and Crime
• Establishment of clubs (Pathfinders)

St. Lucia Girl Guides Association seeks to address the following challenges:

• Littering
• Sand Mining
• Raising awareness of Rights and responsibilities of the Young Citizens

Mabouya Valley Environmental Club (MVEC) focuses on the following issues:

• Waterways and catchment areas
• Increase sensitivity on proper garbage disposable techniques
• Garbage trapping with the use of nets at the river’s mouth

Environmental Conservation Heritage Organization of Laborie ECHO-LAB

• Peace Project in the Laborie Community to beautify the surroundings and ensure the continual growth of various indigenous plants
• Assistance to the Laborie Development Foundation in establishing a Waste Water Garden to address the sewage problem in the community

St. Lucia Scouts Association seeks to address the following priority problem areas:

• Tourism and the Environment
• Crime
• Pollution
• Solid Waste Management
• Job Opportunities 

The Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) St. Lucia Chapter focuses on the following issues:

• Coastal and Marine environment
• Clean up campaigns

ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

• Sandwatch project involving monitoring beach activity, recycling of glass found on beach to make tiles and decorate benches
• Regularizing of sand mining areas
• Radio sequel to address teenage pregnancy
• Newsletter publication
• Website development
• HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

• “Vision 2020”, project aimed at attaining developed country status by 2020
• Making tertiary education affordable by 2008 for all citizens
• Sandwatch project
• Implementation of litter wardens system
• Improving accessibility to tertiary education for rural areas

TURKS AND CAICOS

• “Litter critter” programme aimed at encouraging young persons to be vigilant of others’ litter habits
• Street clean up during the Christmas season for a nominal fee
• HIV Peer Education
• Drug Prevention programmes
• Government scholarships
• Small enterprise development schemes
• Basic needs trust fund
• Solid waste management
• Water and sewage projects

Following this information sharing by country delegates, Mr. Murray stressed upon the issues and challenges that influenced the development of a Caribbean position in preparation for Mauritius.  He outlined the progress made by OECS countries in the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and made reference to a number of challenges faced in this regard in particular to the economic global trends and the increasing costs of physical infrastructures. In speaking to a number of emerging issues related to improving the resilience of the SIDS of the Caribbean he pointed to the incidence of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean and their potential consequences, especially to the youth, to the future development of the Caribbean society if nothing is done to curb the present trend.  He also noted that other such emerging issues included: security and governance; the potential for cultural industries and initiatives; trade liberalisation and globalization; the extent to which OECS SIDS can achieve, or were achieving, the Millennium Development Goals and OECS SIDS.  Mr. Murray also pointed to some of the issues that need to be considered when developing further the Caribbean position in Mauritius, particularly with reference to ensuring that the youth perspective was adequately represented.

Panel Discussion

The next activity was a panel discussion on priority issues, identified in-country, which could guide the Caribbean youth position in Mauritius. The panelists were representatives of the British Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia and Bonaire.  The following priority issues which emerged from the discussion included:

• Education.  Participants were concerned that present education systems in most countries do not support access to tertiary education for all.  In most cases the cost of tertiary education was the key deterrent in enabling persons to pursue their studies at that level.

• Unemployment.  Generally, unemployment is greater amongst youth than any other age group.

• Tourism.  Due to the focus on all inclusive hotels, visitors do not spend as much money on the islands.

• Physical Environment.  It was agreed that governments and citizens needed to engage in sustainable development activities.

• Other issues included:
  -         poverty reduction strategies
  -         legal aid
  -         HIV/AIDS
  -         Crime prevention strategies
  -         High incidence of youth migration (brain drain)

Group Discussions

Participants were asked to choose one of the three main themes of the ‘Youth Visioning for Island Living’ (which were briefly introduced by Dr. Gillian Cambers, namely ‘Love and life in my island’, ‘My island home’ and ‘Money in my pocket’) for working group discussions. They were to focus on issues that affect youth in their country in relation to the chosen theme.

The issues raised under each theme were as follows:

• Group 1 (Love and life in my island)
  -         sexual health education
  -         tertiary education
  -         unemployment and crime
  -         culture

• Group 2   (My island home)
  -         land degradation
  -         HIV/AIDS
  -         Brain drain
  -         Pollution
  -         Environmental awareness
  -         Youth involvement in national activities
  -         Enforcement of environmental law

• Group 3  (Money in my pocket)
  -         developing skills and training
  -         entrepreneurship
  -         access to tertiary education
  -         youth credit initiative
  -         technical education
  -         HIV/AIDS

• Group 4 (Love and life in my island)
  -         education
  -         crime
  -         culture
  -         sexual education for youth

In preparation for the next day’s session, participants were asked to think about possible projects/activities that could be undertaken in relation to the various issues presented. These would be formulated into project proposals.

Day Two

The session resumed with a summary of Day One by the rapporteur, Marva Edward.

In order to facilitate the formulation of projects/activities, a session was dedicated to the process of writing project proposals. Mr. Murray presented a template that could be used for this purpose and explained each component of the template.

Following his presentation, participants were once again invited to return to their respective working groups. Their task was to identify possible projects/activities, which could be put together into a proposal following specific criteria. These had to be realistic, achievable in two years and aimed at addressing the issues identified by participants. Annex 3 is the collection of project proposals. Participants were informed by the CARICOM Representative that every effort would be made to incorporate the suite of proposals into the framework for a Caribbean Partnership Initiative to be submitted by the CARICOM Secretariat in Mauritius.

The two-day meeting ended with a session dedicated to discussions on the short term actions that needed to be initiated in-country in preparation for Mauritius. This session allowed participants to examine public sensitization approaches including a Caribbean Youth slogan in preparation for the meeting, travel arrangements and understanding the objectives of the meeting of Mauritius. 

The slogan presented was:  Diverse, good and small in size; the Caribbean is on the rise - Road to Mauritius

In closing, each delegation received some publications on the Small Islands Voices project. Peter Murray expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes of the meeting and noted that the objectives had been meet in spite of the constraints of time.  He also expressed gratitude to other supporting agencies including the Ministries of Education, Ministry of Physical Development, Tourism and Social Transformation for assisting in the preparation and the delivery of this meeting.

Mrs Paule Turmel-John also expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of the two-day proceedings and thanked the observers, facilitators, agencies and organizations for their support and the participants for their commitment and hard work over the two days.

Annex 1

YOUTH DIALOGUE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Villa Santa Maria, Castries
Saint Lucia

Monday 25^th –  Wednesday 27^th October 2004

AGENDA

Annex 2

Youth Dialogue On Sustainable Development
Villa Santa Maria - Castries, St Lucia
Monday 25^th to Wednesday 27^th October 2004

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Annex 3

EXPLANATORY NOTES

EXAMPLE