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UNESCO puts at the disposal of Caribbean partners policy advice and technical support to strengthen the application of Meaningful Youth engagement (MYE) principles. This entails conceiving youth as partners and agents of change and integrating their expertise, experiences and lived realities throughout policy design, the program cycle and institutional decision-making. UNESCO as UN agency with a dedicated youth development section, is the partner of choice for delivering technical support on MYE in the Caribbean. Likewise, UNESCO continuously develops the capacity of youth, youth structures and youth-led organizations and structures on selected topics including MYE, project planning, disability inclusion or gender-mainstreaming.

Meaningful Youth Engagement: YOUth Matters!

The UNESCO Office for the Caribbean hosted a three-day interactive training “Meaningful Youth Engagement: YOUth Matters!” for Public Officials in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. The interaction with youth speakers proved to have a motivational impact on public officials and policymakers. Through discussions that followed the presentations, some of the participants shared how their views on involving youth have changed, and many expressed how they were inspired to continue to work with devoted young people. Recognizing youth as rights-holders, partners and actors with their values that need to be included, the public officials and young participants were able to identify entry points to jointly advance MYE and the YPS Agenda.

In 2023, UNESCO and the CARICOM Secretariat join forces to develop a knowledge product which aims at enhancing cooperation and fostering exchange on good practices on youth development between different Caribbean countries.

UNESCO Advancing Youth 2030 within the UN

UNESCO offers its technical expertise on meaningful youth engagement to UN Country Teams in the Caribbean. For example, in 2023 UNESCO is a lead agency in the development of a Youth Action Plan for the Jamaica UN Country Team, aligned to Youth 2030.

Furthermore, since 2021, the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean has provided technical and methodological guidance to the Barbados and OECS Resident Coordinator’s Office on meaningful youth engagement, including through the establishment of its Youth Advisory Group (YAG), which was created to provide an opportunity for youth to play an active and meaningful role in the development of the sub-region, working in close partnership with the UNST. Within this framework to ensure adequate understanding of the expectations and key programmatic areas for meaningful youth engagement an orientation and capacity development workshop was co-facilitated by UNESCO on April 3-4 for the 2023 Youth Advisory Group as well as for other youth leaders from Eastern Caribbean countries.

UNESCO Youth Talk - Youth Engagement in the United Nations

UNESCO in the Caribbean, in partnership with the , invited young people from the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean to a Youth Talk with the aim of explaining the mechanisms by which young people are meaningfully engaged in the United Nations and its specific actions in the field of peace and security. The interactive session provided a platform for the exchange for participants from Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Trinidad and Tobago.

In the effort to meaningfully engage youth, the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean through its Social and Human Sciences Team launched the Youth Peace and Security Support Group (“YPS Support Group”). The YPS Support Group was established as a follow-up action to the YPS Consultation. The YPS Support Group serves as an informal mechanism to provide a space for young people to engage in the implementation of UNESCO’s YPS actions. The group has been developed in consultation with young people from the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean in line with the UN Youth Strategy, Youth 2030, and Youth as a Priority Group for UNESCO.

After the activities of the YPS Support Group of 2022 were successfully completed, UNESCO Office for the Caribbean recruited a new cohort for the YPS Support Group 2023 to continue the mandate of meaningful youth engagement in the Caribbean. Current members of the 2023 cohort come from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, The Bahamas and Barbados.

YPS Support Group Activities 2022

Four youth from Dominica, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago were selected through an open call for applications as members of the YPS Support Group 2022. The members met continuously and received mentorship and guidance to design local, national and regional activities together, to raise awareness on the YPS agenda and its implications in addressing crime and violence in the Caribbean. Through the activities, the members co-created UNESCO’s work on YPS within their communities and strengthened their skills to advocate and implement a global agenda.

Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security (GCYPS)

The Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security (GCYPS) facilitates collaboration and coordination in strengthening youth participation in peacebuilding policy and practice worldwide. It comprises over 70 civil society organizations, UN entities, youth-led and youth-focused organizations, donors, academics and inter-governmental bodies. As part of its contribution to amplifying Caribbean youth voices, the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean engages a co-chair of the Knowledge Management Taskforce of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security since 2022.

UNESCO will continue to meaningfully engage youth to co-lead the YPS Agenda in the Caribbean.

Help produce knowledge to drive change in your community

The Youth as Researchers (YAR) methodology was developed by the UNESCO Chairs at the National University of Ireland Galway and Penn State University, USA. The focus of the methodology is for young people to participate in research and enhance their capacities during the process. Youth are supported through training, mentoring and coordination. UNESCO will employ the methodology in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to ensure that youth are meaningfully engaged in knowledge production on peacebuilding and citizen security.

YAR in Jamaica: Youth Researchers Present Findings on Peace and Citizen Security

The first Youth as Researchers (YAR) pilot was rolled out in Jamaica in the framework of the Amplifying Youth Voice and Action to address Citizen Security and Safety (AYVA) project coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Over five months, UNESCO provided intensive training in basic social science methods, sessions on Youth, Peace and Security concepts, as well as mentoring and coaching for three YAR groups that brought together participants aged 18-30 from Jamaica. The young participants addressed the following topics through their research projects: Government Programmes on Peace and Security; Youth-centric Policy-Design for Peace, Citizen Safety and Security; Youth Engagement and CSOs in Peace, Citizen Safety and Security.  

UNESCO’s actions are anchored in the principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of leaving no one behind and fostering social cohesion. In this regard, youth constitute a key priority. Nevertheless, young people in the Caribbean SIDS face increasing levels of violence, aspects which can lead to discouragement and disillusionment. When youth are provided with opportunities for engagement and participation, they can capitalize on their resilience constructively, becoming valuable assets for peacebuilding and agents of positive change.

The Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda has gained momentum over the last years, whereby the role and contributions for peacebuilding of young people have been recognized. The United Nations (2015) is the first international policy framework that recognizes the positive role young people play in preventing and resolving conflict and building lasting peace.

In this context, UNESCO is developing its strategy to further promote the implementation of the YPS agenda in the Caribbean where young people are recognized and supported to meaningfully engage in peacebuilding in their communities and wider society.

UNESCO Youth Consultation on Youth, Peace and Security

On November 28, 2021, UNESCO invited young people (18-30 years old) from the Caribbean SIDS to participate in an online consultation to share Youth, Peace and Security concepts, capture recommendations, and lessons learned specific to the issues of youth, peace and security in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. As a result, the participants co-created a Roadmap on YPS with specific recommendations for actions.

Virtual Global Knowledge Café on Youth, Peace and Security in the Caribbean

On 16 February 2023, the Knowledge Café on Youth, Peace, and Security was co-hosted virtually by the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean and the Knowledge Management Taskforce of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace, and Security (GCYPS). Thirty-five representatives from civil society including youth organizations, governmental institutions, regional intergovernmental organizations, and United Nations entities engaged in a series of knowledge exchanges to:

1. Understand the specific challenges and potentials of young people building peace in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.
2. Explore concrete steps and approaches to operationalize the Caribbean Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda at the country-level.
3. Mobilize a coalition of stakeholders to advance the YPS agenda in the Caribbean.

UNESCO Youth Talk - Youth Engagement in the United Nations

UNESCO in the Caribbean, in partnership with the invited young people from the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean to a Youth Talk with the aim of explaining the mechanisms by which young people are meaningfully engaged in the United Nations and its specific actions in the field of peace and security. The interactive session provided a platform for the exchange for participants from Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and Trinidad and Tobago.

The session gave an overview of , the UN system-wide Youth Strategy and pointed to avenues to engage with the United Nations. The presenters also shed light on the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda from a global perspective, touching on the findings of the while opening up the floor for discussion on how the agenda can be localised in the Caribbean, following up on UNESCO’s recent efforts to advance YPS in the Caribbean.