Young people tired of being left out

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]xecutive members of the Saint Lucia National Youth Council have come forward to voice their concerns on matters they believe need immediate addressing. The areas in need of improvement, highlighted by the group: recent sports development plans, youth crime and violence, the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and youth target points in the government’s election manifesto.

First vice president of the council and owner of media company Sports Avis, Mr. Nyus Alfred says the NYC recently received several calls from the public to comment on the proposed plans for the development of sporting infrastructure in Saint Lucia since these facilities will, in large part, be used by young people.

“Our main concern about the proposed developments is the lack of proper consultation,” said Alfred. The council would prefer to see consultations that include male and female athletes at the grassroots level. “We’ve heard there have been some consultations with associations but it is no secret that in Saint Lucia a lot of our associations are dysfunctional,” Alfred continued. “These associations might not always represent grassroots interests.”  The vice president urged the authorities to consult with members of district Youth and Sports Councils.

Another sports-related concern for the council is the building of facilities which do not meet international standards. Alfred offered swimming as a prime example. Saint Lucia, he said, has one competitive swimming pool that is 25 meters long. However, international swimming events take place in 50-meter pools. Recent infrastructral development proposals indicate that two 25-meter pools will be built in the south of the island but Alfred reasoned: “If we already have an issue with lack of proper facilities for athletes competing abroad, wouldn’t that money be better spent building a 50-meter pool?” Other members of the council complained that the maintainence of the island’s current sporting facilities were poor and in some instances completely absent. They believe maintainence should be a top priority.

On the issue of crime and violence, NYC President Jeshurun Andrew reminded   that firearms are not manufactured in Saint Lucia. He said: “It is good to see that the prime minister is putting some kind of border control in place. We hope that moving forward it is inclusive of all the persons already involved in that sector.” Among the council’s suggestions to curb youth involvement in crime: the establishment of more social programmes to engage young people, urgent modification of school curricula and more decentralized, more accessible mentorship and training programmes. The council also encourages Saint Lucia’s young people to reach out to the NYC and youth community leaders for guidance on possible programmes they can enrol in that are best suited to their interests.

Second vice president Ajani LeBourne spoke on the council’s desire for a progress report on changes within the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. “We believe young people in Saint Lucia deserve to know exactly what is the vision for the college,” LeBourne said. The fear, he says, is that young people and their parents will eventually be forced to decide that there is no need to pursue higher education or most will resort to leaving the island, thus contributing to a more severe brain drain.

According to the council, the last UWP manifesto mentioned a $10 million loan facility and funding for annual youth forums. Concerning the establishment of the loan facility aimed at financially supporting young Saint Lucians with business ideas, Andrew declared: “It is something the NYC considers excellent. With our high unemployment rate, we’d like to encourage our young people to see entrepreneurship as a means of career development.”

Last year NYC planned and executed the Caribbean Youth Conference which was an overall success but the group believes it can be further improved. “One of the main issues that we had in hosting the conference is the response from the government ministries and ministers. Some did make a special effort to be present; some couldn’t,” Alfred said. “Moving forward, the government could adopt the Caribbean Youth Conference. This would ease the strain off the council.”

The NYC hopes to work jointly with the Saint Lucian government which has a mandate for conducting forums aimed at discovering and addressing youth concerns. Its executive body believes proper partnership between the two entities will lead to the establishment of more efficient and effective youth-related policies.