Jamaica to Host Caribbean Youth Summit

On Monday, organizers of the Caribbean Youth Summit said it will be held next 22-25 with the aim of providing tools to the younger generation to mitigate gender-based violence.

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The forum organizers said the event will seek to provide a platform for young people to reflect on strategies to ensure the involvement of other youth leaders in the community in promoting the prevention of gender discrimination.

According to a report in the Jamaica Observer newspaper, its discussions will also seek to strengthen the socio-emotional capacity of adolescents to address challenges associated with violence and mental health.

The summit will also serve as a platform for young people to share their experiences, ideas and best practices in peace, security and sustainable development in the Caribbean.In addition, the source added, participants will formulate recommendations to strengthen policies and programs to combat gender-based violence, as well as strategies to address mental health issues faced by women, men and girls in the region.

On the other hand, Michele Small-Bartley, deputy director of Youth Development Programs at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat, based in Guyana, said another key objective of the summit is to align the region's youth development efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She also referred to SDG 5, which is to achieve gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful practices against women and girls.

She emphasized that the initiative seeks to create synergies with the Caricom Youth Development Goals, the Caribbean Development Bank's Youth Policy and Operational Strategy and the United Nations Population Fund's Youth Strategy, "My Body, My Life, My World!"