It is our great honour to address you on this important day – a day set aside for celebrating the enormous potential of the Caribbean’s youth. A day on which we remember that 60% of the population of St Kitts & Nevis is under the age of 35. A day on which we reflect on the countless outstanding achievements that are being made each day by these young Kittitians and Nevisians. On this day, Caribbean Youth Day 2015, we also pause to consider the significant amount of work that still needs to be done, the great distances that we have yet to travel on the road towards the full empowerment of our nation’s youth.
This year’s activities centre around the theme; “Refocus. Reinvest. Reinforce. Youth Integration for a stronger and sustainable Caribbean.” As CARICOM Youth Ambassadors we are the voice of our nation’s youth. This is our appeal to our leaders, to our society and especially to our fellow young people.
It is time for our country to refocus its attention on the issues that really matter, on the generation that will lead St Kitts & Nevis into the future. It is time to recognize that in order for our nation to progress, our young people must be the focus of each and every development agenda if we hold any hopes of building a future that is sustainable and prosperous.
It is time to recognize that we must refocus the perceptions that surround the youth of St Kitts & Nevis. Too often we are generalized. We are seen as the ungrateful generation, the committers of crime – the wayward young people. Too often we are shunted to the side, as an older and wiser head condemns our nation’s youth in one fell swoop. Too often among our hugely diverse population of young people, the many trail-blazers, innovators and potential nation builders must suffer for the crimes of the few.
It is time, St Kitts and Nevis, to refocus our attitudes towards our young people. Time and time again the dreams, the ideas and the boundless enthusiasm of youth are dismissed as naiveté, ignorance or just plain “who he think he be?” Even worse, we watch on a day-today basis as our best and brightest young people are stifled under the guise of a system presented as unchangeable. Too often the potential for innovation, progress and creative thinking is sacrificed in the name of a routine that came before and therefore must be best.
It is time for our nation to reinvest in our youth. Reinvest its resources – its capital, its time and its attention into programmes and opportunities that will strengthen our capacity and our power to enact real growth and development. It is time for St Kitts & Nevis to reinvest its trust in our in our ability to unleash positive change in our communities and our country. As young people we are asking that your recognize us, that you include us. Integrate us into your plans, your budgets, your committees and your boards. Allow us to be a real part of each and every process so that we may proudly take ownership of our nation.
Too often, investment in the lives and futures of our young people is passed over in favour of investments that yield more immediate monetary returns. Too often in St Kitts and Nevis, hotels are built when we should be building schools.
Too many of our young brothers and sisters feel marginalized – alienated from the very systems that should be ensuring their inclusion. Too many of our young people are hearing platitudes from remote heights that are far removed from the realities of their daily lives. Too many of our Kittitian and Nevisian youth are made to feel as second class citizens by virtue of their inexperience and their age. And confronted but what may seem like a lack of opportunities or a lack of channels through which to express their frustration, too many off our young people are turning to crime. Too many are finding a welcome in gangs; self-assertion by means of violence.
We applaud our nation on the enormous progress that has been made. The huge steps that have been taken to provide a platform for the youth voice. We applaud our leaders who have set aside their differences to unite for the cause of our nation’s youth. We applaud the educators who are the real heroes of our country. We applaud our fellow young people who are quietly and not so quietly engaged in youth involvement and activism across the many villages and communities that make up our nation.
As we celebrate Caribbean Youth Day 2015, we ask that you reinforce our message. That you reinforce your commitment to the advancement of our goals. That you reinforce your belief in us, the younger generation. Please remember us. We are the visionaries, the idealists. We are not yet so cynical that the challenges facing our country seem insurmountable. We are largely free from the burden of history, of old scores that need to be settled. We embody the vision, the passion and the energy that will propel St Kitts & Nevis upwards into the future.
St. Kitts - Nevis Youth Ambassadors 