World Justice Project to fund Area Youth Foundation venture

JAMAICA's AREA Youth Foundation's (AYF) project, 'Due Process: Engaging Youths in the Rule of Law', has been selected by the World Justice Project (WJP) to receive funding through its 'Opportunity Fund' and will be implemented in Jamaica later this year.

The WJP indicated its decision to support the AYF's proposal to the chief executive officer of the AYF, Sheila Graham, based on the recognition that the AYF's extensive experience in working with vulnerable, at-risk youths who see themselves at odds with the law, could provide valuable lessons for everyone tackling what has become a growing and troubling global phenomenon.

The WJF is the biennial convocation of the WJP, a United States of America-based organisation whose mission, according to WJP president William H. Neukom, "Is to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the rule of law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity."

Graham was a participant in the caucus on 'Educating Youth about the Rule of Law' at the World Justice Forum III, which was held from June 20 to 23, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain.

More than 450 diverse leaders, including heads of state, supreme court justices, medical doctors, school teachers, engineers, business owners and artists, among others, came together to develop projects to advance the rule of law across disciplines, for implementation in countries across the world.