AS the Caribbean Community prepares for yet another meeting of its Conference of Heads of Government – this time a Special Summit on Youth Development –there’s a strong call for greater investment in youth in order to advance the integration movement.

The call came against the background of findings of the Report of the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) that will be discussed at the two-day Summit, set for Paramaribo, Suriname, next weekend. The Summit is funded by the European Union under the 9th European Development Fund (EDF), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Commission’s Report has confirmed that the region has talented and creative young people and that youth were excelling in several fields, including sport and culture; and adding great value to the region.

The Report also noted that although many young people did not have adequate information about the Community’s flagship programme – the CARICOM Single Market and Economy – those who had, applauded the CSME as a positive vehicle to youth development.

In addition, the Report highlighted the ‘mis-match’ between education and employment noting that the education system would need to be reformed to prepare young people to take advantage of new employment and career opportunities in a globalised job market.

Noting that youth risky behaviours, including crime and violence, teenage pregnancy, school drop-out and un-protected sex leading to high rate of HIV infection were taking its toll on the economies of the Community, the Report called for more effective interventions and programmes that would minimise those behaviours.

One recommendation called for “Interventions and programmes aimed at reducing the unemployment rate; increasing school enrollment especially at the tertiary level; reducing adolescent pregnancy; increasing the proportion of youth with access to HIV treatment; and fighting violence and crime,” and concluded that this could all result in great benefits for societies in the region.

Those benefits the Report suggested, would “materialise in the form of reduced economic costs and impacts of the negative youth behaviours, reaching into billions of dollars, and gains in productivity and GDP growth, as young people become more industrious and empowered.”

The Report also recommended that addressing negative youth behaviours in CARICOM Member States could be achieved in a cost effective way, by focusing on programmes with proven impact and high benefit-cost ratios.

It also noted that the Community would need to transform the mindset towards youth and development to embrace youth as equal partners in the decision making and problem solving processes of the Region.

In short, the CCYD’s Report is calling for greater and more strategic investment in Youth.

The CARICOM Commission on Youth Development was established by the 27th Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government with a clear mandate to conduct a “full scale analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to make recommendations on how best to empower them and improve their well-being.”

Its work, which started in March 2007, was supported by several international agencies and governments, including the Governments of Spain and Italy; the United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNFPA) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP).