Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

Arguing that Youth has been consistently treated as a "Cinderella portfolio", industry stakeholders said yesterday it was full time Caribbean governments treat it with the weight it deserved.

"In many instances, the existing youth development agencies and structures are inadequately funded, accorded very little importance in the ministerial hierarchy and, more often than not, it is only the sheer commitment and dedication of youth development workers which has prevented the total collapse of the youth development architecture," said Henry Charles, director of the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre.

Noting that several governments have reached panic mode as a consequence of the failing system, Mr. Charles suggested the attempts were merely quick fixes and that more needed to be done if true sustainable development was to be achieved.

"In most jurisdictions, national youth policies have been formulated but these to a large extent have remained simply statements of philosophical principles and intent," he said.

Rightful place

"Let me remind you that, unless youth development is accorded its rightful place within the national development agenda, efforts to reform, reshape and reposition our economic, social, political and governance systems will be severely undermined and sustainable development will remain but a fleeting illusion."

He was speaking at the press conference for the inaugural staging of consultations on the professionalisation of youth work in Jamaica, in Montego Bay, St. James yesterday.

The first of three consultative meetings in the island, the stakeholders meeting was geared towards sparking constructive criticism and obtaining endorsements for the NCTVET-produced Youth Development Work Competency Standards (CSS2005).