1. The Cayman Islands Youth Assembly: The Voice Of Young Caymanians 1
By: Ewort Atkinson
Discussions, debates, essay writing, research
and weekly meetings may sound like the kind of
after-school activities students run from, rather
than run towards. Yet the Cayman Islands
Youth Assembly (CIYA), a youth empowerment
programme for students aged 10-25 years, is
finding the opposite to be true.
CIYA members represent their schools at weekly
meetings where they discuss the youth
perspective on socially, politically and culturally
important issues, and also hear from speakers in
the wider community. They hail from different
backgrounds and cultures, but share a passion
for working towards the betterment of the
Islands. To this end, each year they produce
position papers on subjects that are of particular
concern. These documents represent CIYA’s
primary output, and offer viewpoints and
the ciya position
The Cabinet Office has partnered with the Cayman
Islands Youth Assembly (CIYA) to produce a regular
series of articles that offer a youth perspective on
topical issues. This introductory article written by the
CIYA Programme Officer outlines the work of the
organisation and its objectives
CIYA meetings are
often given over to
debate and discussion
with differengt
members offering
different viewpoints.

2. The Cayman Islands Youth Assembly: The Voice Of Young Caymanians 2
recommendations that have been researched and
documented in an essay-type format. This year
the group has already decided to focus on the
global financial crisis and the threat to Cayman’s
economy and society, as well as the declining role
of the Caymanian family and its impact on the
contemporary Caymanian. It is indicative of the
organization’s work ethic that the young people
will commit around 30 hours of their personal time
to preparing the final document for submission to
the Legislative Assembly in May.
A semi-autonomous programme, CIYA has a clear-
cut organizational structure governed by its own
constitution. Members of the 2009 executive
include President Brittanni Seymour, Vice
President Taylor Ribbins, Secretary Danielle
Borden and Assistant Secretary Camille Bodden.
To serve as ‘Heads o Issues’ and lead group
discussions on the position papers, the
programme has elected Leanna Jarvis, Taylor Reid
and Kendra Ebanks. Other executive members
include Sergeant at Arms Kadane Hall,
Spokesperson Elizabeth Myles and General
Assembly Representative Pavla Kostitch. CIYA also
has a Programme Officer who mediates and
Students also spend a great deal of
time in writing and research

3. The Cayman Islands Youth Assembly: The Voice Of Young Caymanians 3
supervises the weekly discussions. Yet the onus is on
members to ensure that CIYA remains focused on its
primary objective, which is to provide young
Caymanians with a voice concerning the decisions
that affect their lives. The concept of a Cayman
Islands Youth Assembly began as a key component
of the National Youth Policy 2000, intended to provide
an ‘umbrella body of young people who represented
various categories of youth and who would advocate
on behalf of young men and women’ (National Youth Policy
2000).
As the primary youth voice contributing to the
country’s national agenda, the role of CIYA is also to
inspire and instil a sense of pride in other young
people. To facilitate this awareness, CIYA members
are elected from among the student bodies of their
schools including John Gray High School, PACE High
School, New Horizon High School, Heritage High
School, Leading Edge High School, Cayman Prep and
High School, Cayman International School, Wesleyan
Christian Academy, Grace Christian Academy, Cayman
Academy and Cayman Brac High School. (end)