The Commonwealth Secretariat is deepening its partnership with the CARICOM Secretariat on youth mainstreaming and youth statistics.
During a visit to Belize last year, representatives from the Commonwealth Youth Programme convened a series of senior officials' meetings and workshops, culminating in the Fourth High-Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics in Placencia, Belize.
At the forum’s opening, the Prime Minister of Belize, the Hon John Briceño, remarked:
“The increasing demand for rapidly produced and widely available new data indicates a clear shift towards evidence-based planning and response to the imminent challenges our world faces.”
One of the ways this gap is being addressed is by developing the Caribbean Youth Development Index (CYDI) to provide valuable indicators for policymakers and an objective measurement of progress. An initiative of the CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean-focused report will be modelled after the Global Youth Development Index (YDI) developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
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The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) comprises fifteen Member States and six Associate Members. It is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under 30 years old. The CARICOM Secretariat, the principal administrative organ of the Community, is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.
The YDI report measures progress in 183 countries and focuses on six core domains: Education, Employment and Opportunity, Equality and Inclusion, Health and Wellbeing, Peace and Security, and Political and Civic Participation.
Dr Terri-Ann Gilbert-Roberts, Research Manager at the Commonwealth Secretariat, spoke about the significance of the initiative at a time when the Commonwealth Year of Youth coincided with the CARICOM Year of Statistics. She said:
“The Commonwealth understands first-hand the value of statistics and continues to champion data-driven decision-making. The global YDI is a powerful tool for data and policy advocacy which highlights the progress of small states. A regional index will better capture the nuances of Caribbean development, prioritising indicators aligned to the goals of the CARICOM Youth Development Action Plan”.
Michele Small-Bartley, Programme Manager, Youth Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, added:
“The CARICOM Youth Development Index and action plan provides a framework for integrating young peoples' perspectives. We must ensure young people are active participants in shaping the development of the region and the programmes and policies that affect their lives.”
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Addressing challenges and proposing solutions
Leading up to the High-Level Advocacy Forum, CARICOM Directors of Youth and Chief Statisticians met in an inter-sectoral workshop to identify the challenges and solutions for the development of the index and discussed a roadmap for implementation.
Participants highlighted key challenges related to inadequate interagency collaboration, the need to prioritise indicators across a wide base, under-reporting at the national level for crime, health, and well-being indicators; and limited human and financial capacity to compile the CARICOM-wide indicators.
To address these issues, proposed solutions included harmonising data collection methodologies, piloting surveys before refining the regional design, increasing investments in data collection and storage, strengthening national capacities to create and manage youth-focused data, and engaging young people in statistical research through targeted training initiatives.
Strengthening youth mainstreaming in Belize
Belize has recognised that building the statistical base for youth development is a core step in implementing its youth mainstreaming strategy which will support resilience throughout society.
The Commonwealth team also delivered a youth mainstreaming capacity-building workshop for Belizean government officials. The workshop highlighted key youth mainstreaming principles and responsibilities and featured breakout sessions for participants to explore strategies to overcome barriers to stakeholder collaboration across government and youth participation.
Additionally, a copy of the Commonwealth’s guidebook on Youth Mainstreaming in Development Planning was presented to the Hon Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Youth, Sports and Transport, who emphasised the importance of prioritising youth leadership within regional ministries in Belize.
Media contact
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Ijeoma Onyeator Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
