Saint Lucia to be represented at the World Youth Conference 2017 in Belize

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hree youth leaders will be representing Saint Lucia at the 2017 World Youth Conference scheduled for November 6-9 under the theme “Globally Running to 2030, Becoming Sustainably Strong”. The youth delegation includes Mr. Kelvin Antoine (former male Caricom Youth Ambassador), Ms. Ezbai Francis (current female Caricom Youth Ambassador) and Ms. Anya Edwin (Treasurer of the Saint Lucia National Youth Council).

This event is hosted annually for youth leaders, and designed to facilitate effective partnerships with youth oriented and youth-led organizations, to further strengthen their inclusion in the decision-making processes and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference is a timely response stemming from dialogue out of the regional and international commitments that were made, such as the:

• World Youth Conference 2016- New Delhi, India
• CHOGM Youth Forum 2015- St. Paul’s Bay, Malta
• 9^th UNESCO Youth Forum 2015- Paris, France
• World Youth Conference 2014- Colombo, Sri Lanka

The WYC will:

• Connect and build bridges.
• Develop an action plan; learning from the past, assessing the present and accelerating the future.
• The Mahogany Declaration (The Belize declaration on Youth): a comprehensive drafted document created by young leaders that will establish their commitment towards the implementation of the SDGs and will solidify their commitment to serve as leaders of change, thus providing an inclusive youth approach and shared ownership of the SDGs to the young people.

The Saint Lucia National Youth Council wishes the delegation utmost success on their representation as we anticipate them to return ready to empower our young people with their WYC experience and knowledge.