Caribbean Youth. The Leaders of Today

Youth:The Leaders of Today
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE TASK FORCE— CARIBBEAN !1

Disclaimer: This report was written by a five-person task force
comprised of members of the Occidental College at the United
Nations program. For four months, participating students interned
in various agencies or permanent missions to the United Nations.
As the authors are not official UNDP staff members, this report in
no way reflects UNDP’s views or opinions. Furthermore, this report
in no way endorses the views or opinions of Occidental College.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Youth: The Leaders of Today 1
Table of Contents 3
Foreword 4
Acknowledgements 5
Executive Summary 6
Background 7
Definitions and Methodology 10
Typology 13
Case Studies 14
Haiti 14
Trinidad and Tobago 25
Saint Lucia 33
Youth Voices 40
Recommendations 41
Works Cited 44
Endnotes 50
Author Biographies 54

FOREWORD
This report seeks to capture the potential of the power of youth leadership today, and the
importance of expanding youth engagement to build more resilient and empowered
societies. We hope while reading this report, one sees the crucial role youth play in economic
development, sustainability, and advocacy for justice. As Deputy Secretary General Jan
Eliasson said in October at an event on youth, peace and security—“We must not only work
for youth – we must work with youth. All of us will gain by doing so.” We call on global
leaders to involve youth voices and strengthen and develop programs which catalyze the
power of youth.
Occidental College has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) as a means of engaging young people with UNDP’s work and the broader youth,
peace, and security agenda. This is collaborative effort is in line with the vision articulated in
the UNDP Youth Strategy and UNDP Youth-GPS. This partnership has proved crucial in
building a connection between current youth and the development arena, a nexus that needs
to be further developed in order to realize the power of young people. We look forward to a
future where youth are viewed not as victims of decisions, but agents and actors in change. 
“We must not only work for youth – we must work
with youth. All of us will gain by doing so.”
- Deputy SG Jan Eliasson
"Let us acknowledge and celebrate what youth can do to build a
safer, more just world. Let us strengthen our efforts to include
young people in policies, programmes and decision-making
processes that beneﬁt their futures and ours."
—Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon message on International Youth Day, 12 August 2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Examining the issue of youth, peace and security the last four months has been an
incredible privilege and a collaborative effort. While the task of creating realistic
recommendations of how UNDP and relevant organizations can empower youth in
peacebuilding efforts was particularly challenging; with the support, assistance, and care of a
few exceptional individuals, our task has proved to be a gratifying experience. We’d like to
begin by thanking the original visionaries of this report: Noella Richard and Regev Ben Jacob.
Noella, we are in awe of your unrelenting passion for the empowerment of youth and
limitless kindness. And Regev, we are so thankful for your unwavering patience, guidance
and impressively prompt responses to our probing late-night questions.
Within the texture of the case studies and recommendations, there are several
powerful individuals who have worked tirelessly to support our work. We are immensely
grateful to those who shared their knowledge working with youth in the Caribbean,
particularly Tecoah Dove and Janine Chase, your words were invaluable additions to our
research.
Lastly, many thanks to our Occidental College network, particularly Doug Gardner
and Jacques Fomerand for providing boundless guidance and mentorship throughout this
process. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude to Sherry Simpson-Dean for her
expertise in design whilst leading us through the crafting of the narrative for our
supplementary media piece. Special thanks to Mallory Leeper and Samantha Morrill in
presenting an inspiring video. And another huge thank you to Kara Alam for the exceptional
design, layout, and editing work of the report that lies here in your hands. Finally, thank you
to William and Elizabeth Kahane and their generous endowment, the professors in the
Diplomacy and World Affairs department at Occidental, and the staff in the International
Programs Ofﬁce for consistently supporting and uplifting our work. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Over the last few years, the youth, peace and security agenda has begun to galvanize
international attention. Governments and international actors alike are looking to invest in
young people as a key component of sustainable development. Organizations such as the
United Nations have emphasized the role youth play as agents of change in their countries.
Perhaps the most monumental step in the conversation around the importance of the youth,
peace and security agenda came with the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 in
2015, which addressed the need for states to engage youth as peacebuilders within their
governments and communities. Since the adoption of Resolution 2250, leaders have
increasingly recognized the importance of youth. Upon his swearing in, the Secretary General
Designate said that ”the UN must empower youth and increase their participation in society,”
once again reiterating the importance of youth in the broader peace and security agenda. If
leaders continue to take steps to embrace young people as changemakers in their societies,
and engage them with the necessary capacity, resources, and opportunities, the future of
these communities will be brighter, more peaceful, and more sustainable.
This focus of this report is the Caribbean, with case studies of Haiti, Trinidad and
Tobago, and Saint Lucia. It highlights the most pressing obstacles to youth and peacebuilding
in the Caribbean region, particularly calling attention to the need for development actors to
address the root drivers of organized crime, which disproportionately impact youth. While
the structure of the report highlights one key development theme in each case study country,
these themes are also broader themes in the Caribbean as a whole.
This report concludes with recommendations for how UNDP and other international,
regional and local actors can assist in improving Caribbean youth initiatives and national
policies to more effectively engage youth as agents. By addressing the needs highlighted in
this report, we believe youth can play a more prominent role in creating peace, security, and
prosperity within the Caribbean, and even the broader Latin America region. Our
overarching recommendations fall within the following themes: social inclusion, government
and private sector funding, locally driven projects, accountability and sustainability, and
bringing youth to the forefront. As you read this report we hope you hear not only the
potential youth have to play in the future, but also the tremendous role young people are
already playing as leaders today. 

BACKGROUND 
INTRODUCTION
In December 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2250
(2015) on Youth, Peace and Security— a resolution which recognized, for the first time, the
significant and powerful role that young women and young men play in the prevention of
conflict, in peacebuilding and in the maintenance of international security. At a time when
young people have been portrayed as a group especially vulnerable to forces of violent
extremism and radicalization, this resolution made a contrary and powerful assertion that
young people should not solely be seen as a part of the problem, but be incorporated as a
part of the solution. UNSCR 2250 focuses on several primary areas of youth involvement and
rights. These include political participation, protection of youth, measures for the prevention
of youth being involved in violence, creating partnerships for youth involvement, and
disengagement and reintegration of youth affected by armed conflict.
Today, over 600 million young people live in fragile and conflict affected regions
around the world. How can these young people be involved in peacebuilding? This report
seeks to answer that question by exploring how young people from the Caribbean region are
engaging in the peacebuilding sphere. We are currently at a critical juncture where young
people are being recognized for the profound contributions that they can make towards
creating a peaceful, stable and secure world. However, it is clear that far too often these
contributions are not effectively harnessed. Thevuni Kotigala, a member of the Secretary
General’s advisory group for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security asserts that
there are still many practical and structural difficulties existing at both national and
international levels, as youth and their opinions are not highly regarded and often quickly
dismissed.
This report aims to analyze these efforts at the national level, assessing the challenges
involved in engaging youth in peacebuilding efforts within and across countries. It contains
interviews from young people as well as experts in the field, as well as an in depth
examination of current youth programs, initiatives and platforms. From our research and
“This resolution recognizes the significant role young people will
play in how our world adapts to today’s global challenges,
including those to peace and security. With youth comes energy,
innovation, and optimism – if there are supportive environments
and opportunities.”
— UN Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark on Security Council
Resolution 2250, December 2015

these interviews we have garnered common trends and produced evidence based
recommendations to UNDP and partners as to how relevant organizations can target, engage
and bolster the potential of young people. It is crucial that commonalities in youth grievances
be used as a platform to engage young people from different walks of life, reducing their
vulnerability to being involved in conﬂict, and empowering them to take action on issues that
matter to them. It is clear that focusing on youth is a timely issue.
2016 has proven to be a tumultuous year for youth and global society at large. As the
world refugee crises surges, and the number of displaced people continues to rise, it is more
important than ever to invest in youth. Youth are their own best advocates and hold the
power to shift traditional norms and modes of thinking as they shape their societies.
Ensuring future peace and security begins with meaningful recognition of the power of the
young. Cultivating a global citizenship mindset which fosters international awareness and
empathy is necessary in order to ensure our collective survival. Youth opinions and
experiences must be used as a tool to counter and prevent violent extremism, and build
sustainable peace.
With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, we are at a crucial
juncture in leveraging action for the implementation of these goals that aim to create a safer,
more equitable, sustainable world by 2030. Young people are key actors in this process. As
incoming Secretary General Antonio Guterres put it in his statement upon taking oath, “[t]he
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development… ha[s] opened a pathway to a safer, more just
and peaceful world for all of us. And during these years, youth took on new levels of
leadership.” This report touches on facets of this leadership and youth action on the
implementation of a few of these goals, including quality education (Goal 4), decent work
and economic growth (Goal 8), industry, innovation, and infrastructure (Goal 9), reduced
inequalities (Goal 10), climate action (Goal 13), peace, justice and strong institutions (Goal 16),
and global partnerships for the goals (Goal 17). These issues are extremely relevant to young

people, as we have seen in many of our case studies in this region. Young people in these
around the world suffer from high levels of unemployment, lack of access to quality
education and seem to be largely ignored as a demographic by governments. In order to
tackle these issues, strong partnerships are essential.
This view has been echoed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his calls to action to
young people around the world, notably in his recent message to his Envoy on Youth. “[In]
this time of rampant poverty, hateful discrimination, rising violent extremism, environmental
degradation and other global threats, we must look to those hardest hit, especially young
people, for solutions…incremental progress adds up. When we steadily support the world’s
youth, they can create a safer, more just and more sustainable future for generations to
come.”1
There are more young people alive now than at any other time in human history.2
Young people bring bold ideas, new perspective, passion, and curiosity to their societies, and
to not harness and empower this growing demographic would be a disservice to ourselves.
Youth need to be equipped with the proper resources, tools and skill sets to tackle modern
plights facing the international community.
Resolution 2250 urges member states to recognize youth as powerful agents of change
and encourages collaboration across
sectors. Governments, civil society
actors and stakeholders alike must also
treat youth as valuable assets and
abandon the notion that young people
are troublesome and lack the capacity to
shoulder some of the worlds most
difﬁcult issues. No longer can the
rhetoric around youth be focused solely
on the future. The future is theirs, but
so is the now. The time for youth is now. 
๏Number of Youths (persons aged 10-24) in 1950
๏Number of Youths (persons aged 10-24) in 2010

DEFINITIONS AND
METHODOLOGY
DEFINING KEY TERMS 
Youth and Young People
Youth and young people are defined as
those aged 18 to 29, as in Security Council
Resolution 2250. The UNDP Youth Strategy,
however, focuses principally on young
persons aged 15-24, with some scope for
those aged 25-30. Local understandings of
youth and adulthood can be different and
determined by variables such as marital or
economic power. Due to the fluidity of
definitions across different contexts, the
report considers younger ages at times. This
will be explicitly stated where relevant.
Bottom-up Approaches
Bottom up approaches rely on grassroots,
community-led initiatives. Bottom up
approaches are often very effective at
shifting norms compared to top-down
approaches – offering a more organic and
integrated attitude. Top-down approaches
attempt to implement change through laws
and policies enacted by the government.
Peacebuilding
Peacebuilding promotes social cohesion and
empowers nations and communities to
become inclusive and resilient to external
and internal shocks. Peacebuilding can
involve supporting and strengthening of
key governance institutions needed to
peacefully navigate countries away from
potential conflict and ensure necessary
societal transformations are durable.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and the 2030 Agenda
The 2030 Agenda seeks to stimulate action
for sustainable development over the next
fifteen years through goals and targets. This
universal agenda includes 17 Sustainable
Development Goals and 169 targets that
focus on: people, planet, prosperity, peace,
and partnership. These goals are integrated
to balance the three dimensions of
sustainable development: the economic,
social, and environmental.
Sustainability
Sustainability integrates economic, social,
and environmental spheres and maintains a
long-lasting impact beyond the short-term.
Marginalized/Vulnerable Youth
Marginalized youth often lack access to
education, opportunity, and knowledge of
their human rights. While the degree of
marginalization and vulnerabilities vary
from country-to-country, each country has
marginalized or vulnerable youth
irrespective of their high, middle, or low-
income status. The term marginalized can
also refer to those who are vulnerable due
to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual
orientation, disabilities, gender, etc. 

METHODOLOGY
1. Initially, our team analyzed the major trends within the area to ﬁnd the archetypal case
studies in which we would draw our conclusions and recommendations.
2. After determining four critical country case studies and subsequent thematic realms,
we researched the country context, UNDP’s presence and projects within the region,
and interventions beyond UNDP’s scope.
3. Our team conducted nearly 15 individual and group individual interviews with local
youth, experts, organizations, and implementers to identify best practices. Following
these interviews, we analyzed the core strengths and weaknesses within the case
studies and determined ways to strengthen these process towards a peacebuilding
framework.
4. Additionally, we recognized that one of our strongest assets is that we ourselves are
young people. Therefore, we created a “youth voices” section to highlight the ideas of
young people we interviewed.
5. After analyzing the case studies and interviews, we synthesized the main themes of
our research to provide concrete recommendations contained with speciﬁc examples
aimed at how UNDP and similar organizations can build awareness of youth, peace,
and security.
6. In an effort to bridge the limited access to in-person feedback, we have taken a number
of steps to integrate youth voices around the world. We requested feedback on related
topics to youth participation and peacebuilding, and received feedback form 37 young
people from 20 countries. You can see key quotes highlighted in the Youth Voices
section.
7. In conjunction with this report, we have also developed a related video campaign,
available on the Youth4Peace platform. We encourage readers to visit the Youth4Peace
platform or visit the Youth4Peace Facebook page for further information on the efforts
of young people globally in peacebuilding.

LIMITATIONS
While our team strived to make this report as comprehensive as possible on the youth
and peace efforts in the Caribbean region, it is crucial to acknowledge that there were several
key limitations. First, and most importantly, we had very limited access to youth from these
regions, and, as a result, their voices do not feature prominently in our report. We also had
limited access to professionals and organizations which engage with youth in the Caribbean
region. The individuals that we were able to interview offered invaluable insights into their
work and practical knowledge of the region and the context of peacebuilding. We are grateful
for their generosity in sharing their time and opinions with us. Secondly, many program
websites and social media pages did not include follow up data on the successes and results
of their programs, which limited our ability to provide strong recommendations for certain
interventions. Lastly, our case studies included countries which have outdated census
information and are currently revising their government policies. This limited the availability
of recent data on youth and youth involvement over the last ﬁve years. Given the information
and resources available to us, we have worked to provide the most cohesive overview of
youth, peace and security in the Caribbean and the role youth play as change makers. 

TYPOLOGY
Over 600 million young people live in fragile and conflict affected regions across the
world today. These young people have huge potential to actively engage in their
governments and civil society structures, but often the conflict contexts make it challenging
for them to be able to engage in these spheres, and they often face serious obstacles to
entering the workforce or finding employment in the informal sector. The Caribbean region is
an example of an area that, while largely stable, still experiences many of the complexities
and development challenges of fragile states.
The most serious development challenge facing the Caribbean is the question of
citizen security. Despite rapidly increasing economic growth in the broader region of Latin
America and the Caribbean, the area continues to be the most unequal and one of the most
violent regions in the world. Citizen security is associated with “security against the threat of
crime or violence and is used to refer to the paramount security of individuals and social
groups.” The shift to a citizen security approach responds to the relationship between the
state and the citizenry, by highlighting the need of institutions to serve the Caribbean people
more effectively and address their unmet needs. This concept is a response to the history of
inequality, discrimination and violent crime in the region, which demands action at the
community level. Promoting the concept of citizen security is a call to action for both
governments and institutions and individual citizens. Achieving citizen security requires the
engagement of citizens and governments to promote human rights and liberties, addressing
drivers of violent crime, and promoting innovative solutions to create opportunities to
improve the wellbeing of communities.
Another key area of focus for the Caribbean region is the question of organized crime.
Many countries in the Caribbean serve as transit routes for illicit drugs making their way
from Latin America to the North America or Europe. Gang activity is also a prevalent
challenge. High crime rates emerge as a product of these organized crime groups, fueling
homicide, assault, and robbery. Many interventions in youth peacebuilding efforts have
attempted to rehabilitate and reintegrate youth who have been involved in organized crime
back into society through reintegration.

CASE STUDIES
HAITI 
INTRODUCTION
Haiti faces formidable challenges
holistically and in all facets of daily life, and
as such, the role of youth in peacebuilding
can assume many forms. Considering that
33.4% of Haiti’s population is fourteen or
under, and another 21% is between the ages
of 15 and 24, empowering, investing in, and
engaging with Haitian youth is crucial for
the whole population. Youth-led3
peacebuilding cannot reach its entire
potential until the economic, social, and
development challenges faced by Haiti are
addressed as a whole. All relevant factors—
the international community, the Haitian
government, NGOS, and civil society--
accept that without economic access there
can be no sustainable solution to structural
violence, inopportunity, and low quality of
life. This is why capacity at the most4
foundational levels is key to enhancing
youth’s potential as peace-builders and
happy, active members of Haitian society.
Lasting, sustainable peace is only
possible if economic prospects, social
cohesion, absence of violence, and resilience
to natural disasters are improved. Capacity
building would equip Haitians and Haitian
institutions with the basic tools to start
making lasting development progress in
strengthening the rule of law, legal and
financial governance, policy formulation
and implementation, infrastructure
development, and basic social services. In5
conjunction with these foundational
improvements, Haitian youth in particular
would also greatly benefit from bolstering
personal skills and knowledge bases that
make them competitive, innovative
contributors to the job market and
establishing role models and guidance
mechanisms that direct them away from
organized crime, leaving school, and a
general sense of hopelessness. The broad
HAITI: YOUTH FACTS
✴ Population: 10.32 million
✴ Government definition of youth:
“Youth” is age group of young people
between the age of 15 and 24
✴ Youth as percentage of population:
33.4% under 14, 21% 15-24
✴ Youth unemployment: 20.1%
FMSC Marketplace (1)

and far-reaching problems faced by Haiti
make peacebuilding a daunting task, but it
also means that youth can make positive
entrepreneurial change in all realms of
social and economic development.
CURRENT CHALLENGES
The broad, interlocking, and critical
obstacles that Haiti faces show that
foundational changes are urgent. Holistic
approaches at the organizational, legal,
institutional, economic, and political levels
are imperative to solve-- rather than put a
bandaid on— these formidable challenges.
For youth to be peacebuilders, the
requisites for social cohesion and
opportunity must be in place. In many
ways, Haiti does not yet harbor these
conditions. As the poorest nation in the
Americas, Haiti has suffered obstacles of
tremendous proportions. Dictatorship,
military intervention, and lack of stability
have been determining factors in Haiti’s
development history. Health and sanitation6
are major struggles, with high levels of
malnutrition and HIV/AIDS at “epidemic”
levels. Peaking levels of crime and7
corruption have far reaching consequences
to development, including physical damage
to infrastructure, reduced tourism,
heightened incarceration, and drastically
decreased human capital of Haiti as a
whole. This crime intersects with high rates8
of domestic violence and drug abuse,
creating a vicious and self-perpetuating
cycle of social injury.9
Haiti is also uniquely prone to
natural disasters. On January 12th, 2010, an
extremely destructive 7.0 magnitude
CONTEXT: CAPACITY BUILDING
Capacity building is a broad and far-
reaching process that encompasses
bolstering legal, technological,
organizational, institutional, human, and
resource capabilities at their foundations.
It affects policy and development projects
at their most crucial levels, and sets solid
policy frameworks for social and economic
progress to sustain themselves. Successful
capacity building takes a holistic approach
to development— acknowledging the
ways that social, economic, political, and
infrastructural obstacles reinforce each
other— and enhances communities’
understandings and competencies to
overcome them effectively. Capacity
building is a long-term and evolving
process in which beneﬁciaries and
stakeholders will need to be engaged and
educated for change to be sustainable. It is
essential for a country like Haiti— which
requires major policy adjustments at the
macro level— build capacity so that the
foundations of sustainable peace-building
can be set in place.
After Hurricane Matthew, Devastation in
Southern Haiti (2)

earthquake hit Haiti. More than 200,000
people were killed, 1.5 million more were
displaced, and 300,000 buildings were
destroyed. This aggravated the burdens of10
a fragile political system, unemployment,
and weak infrastructure; at the time of this
report, the country has yet to fully recover
more than six years later. In October 2016,11
class-4 Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc
on local infrastructure and the main sources
of livelihoods for many Haitians. Despite12
decades of aid from the international
community, large numbers of displaced
people, widespread hunger, lack of
sustainable and resilient housing and
infrastructure represent that major
reparations are yet to be made . Subsistence13
agriculture, timber export markets, and the
legacy of the colonial plantation system
render Haiti deforested and soil eroded,
heightening the country’s vulnerability to
natural disasters and inability to provide
food and natural resources14
There is a sizable UN presence in
Haiti. Outside of development initiatives,
MINUSTAH—the UN Stabilization Mission
in Haiti—works to secure stability, uphold
the rule of law, and endorse and protect
human rights. MINUSTAH—along with15
United Nations Development Programme
and Ofﬁce of Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, has also been a ﬁrst responder in
times of environmental crisis. However,
MINUSTAH’s positive contributions are
often overshadowed by the spread of
cholera, which can be traced back to its
Peacekeeping forces. Though MINUSTAH
has undertaken expansive measures to
counter the spread of cholera, more than
10,000 people died and hundreds of
thousands were sickened in result.16 17
Haiti’s youth were certain to be among
those in the short and long-term.
CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH
The principles of capacity building
reinforce that it is impossible to assess
Haiti’s youth development and peace-
building situation without considering the
obstacles the country faces as a whole. Of
the 1.6 million Haitian youths aged 15-24,
only 13% report to be content with their
lives. Malnutrition, lack of investment,18
debilitated infrastructure, low quality of
public schools and lack of health services
leads to low educational attainment, low
social capital accumulation, poor health,
and violent behavior. Rather than feeling19
hopeful for the future and anticipating
“Brothers”— Two young men at their
home near the Haitian Citadel (3)
Female youth are more likely to
be unemployed, uneducated, and
inactive in society in general.

improvements, many young Haitians feel a
sense of being stuck and as failures. This is
especially problematic as youth have
specific needs that need to be addressed,
such as lack of education, lack of social
support systems, unemployment, or loss of
traditional sources of income. In regards to20
peacebuilding, this is a major obstacle, as it
can render Haitian youth apathetic and
despondent to sparking social change.
More than half of Haitian youth have
not completed secondary education and
nearly half in the job market are
unemployed. The unemployment situation
is worse for young Haitian women, as
gender largely determines the work sector
and degree of education for youth, with
men working in agriculture and women in
the private and service sectors. Female21
youth are more likely to be unemployed,
uneducated, and inactive in society in
general.22
Significant portions of Haitian youth
leave school at an early age to support their
families financially, increasing drop-out
rates and premature entry into the
workforce. Many Haitian youths migrate23
to larger economic centers, such as the
capital Port-au-Prince, where 90% of
businesses are informal and 60% of youth
are unemployed, in response to24
unemployment, poverty, and lack of
opportunities. According to the World Bank,
migrants in Haiti are “mainly economic
migrants, who are more able, ambitious,
aggressive, entrepreneurial, and otherwise
more favorably selected than individuals
who remain in their place of origin.”25
Despite this entrepreneurial ambition,
unemployment and unprepared entry into
the labor market stymies skill development,
diminishes potential earning capability and
human capital, and can harm self esteem
and self confidence and investment in the
peace and well being of their
surroundings.26
Disadvantaged youth with lack of
opportunity and social mobility are more
likely to partake in risk taking behaviors
such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and
organized crime. On the other hand, youth
who are well-prepared, qualified for their
work force, and self-confident are better
able to cope with dismal job prospects.27
SDG CONNECTION: SDG 9
Haiti is primed for social innovation and change: it just needs the basic tools
to do so. Improved infrastructure would enable both economic
improvements and improve quality of life for many Haitians. Natural disasters
and lack of funding have undermined the basic infrastructure needed for
healthcare, sanitation, and an enabled economy. Providing proper sanitation
would avoid disease— such as the Cholera epidemic— for a healthier,
happier, and more productive population. Buildings, roads, and plumbing
systems should also be constructed in a manner more resilient to flooding
and earthquakes to mitigate damage if there are natural disasters in the
future. Access to electricity would bolster greater productivity and innovation.
Though technology does not guarantee social change, it is is a major
obstruction to social and economic progress that only 10% of Haitians have
access to the internet; improving internet access would empower youth in
their studies, serve as a tremendous educational tool, and connect them to
the outside world. Improving these basic systems would also attract more
external investment, connecting Haiti to foreign markets and industries.

These factors are also major determinants
for school drop out or push out, strongly
correlated with economic success and social
mobility, and the self-confidence and social
investment to act as peace builders in their
communities .28 29
Bleak economic prospects can push Haitian
youths to rely on organized crime for
livelihood and social solidarity, a major step
backward for Haitian youth in
peacebuilding. This perpetuates crime and
violence in the public and private realms,
which which Haitian legal and social
services are not equipped to deal with.
The lack of external opportunity
make Haitian youth particularly susceptible
to recruitment to organized crime groups.
Haiti has no warring parties, no peace
agreement and no former factions that need
to be reintegrated into society; rather,
informal settlement neighborhoods in
particular, especially those in Port-au-
Prince, suffer from overlapping factors such
as lack of service provisions, dysfunctional
families, urban violence associated with
criminal gangs and political unrest
stemming from from widespread poverty,
inequality and social exclusion. There are
few credible alternatives than to be involved
in criminal and gang activity, perpetuating
violence in the social, institutional, and
domestic realms. For example, in families30
with a child in primary school, twenty
percent of households reported the wife had
been beaten in front of the child. This31
means that many young Haitians are
acclimated to violence and social discord as
they grow older; peacebuilding is not the
norm in domestic life for many Haitian
youths. As the World Bank states, this
prevalence of violence and crime at home
and in the workplace renders “a
fundamental lack of trust in other persons
affects youth in various social and economic
ways; social networks deteriorate and
effective and efficient markets are non-
existent. Some simply cannot go to school
because of a violent environment.” Violent32
conflict often brings rapid changes in social
norms and prevents opportunities for lost
generations to reintegrate into peaceful
civilian life . When violence is normalized33
in society, Haitian youth may be further
compelled to disassociate from their
Haitian youth at a song and dance program
through the Canadian Red Cross (4)
There are few credible
alternatives than to be involved
in criminal and gang activity,
perpetuating violence in the
social, institutional, and
domestic realms

communities and desert peacebuilding
efforts.
UNDP SUPPORT FOR YOUTH
UNDP has its own capacity-building
tool kit, featuring national ownership,
country- and context-specific enablers,
integrated monitoring and feedback
mechanisms, and engagement of
particularly vulnerable populations. In
general, capacity building efforts have been
targeted at populations as a whole—rather
than just an age-specific group such as
young Haitians—but there are notable
youth-directed initiatives. In 2015, for
example, UNDP completed the construction
of six schools for more than 1,000 children.34
In terms of professional development,
UNDP has supported vocational training in
debris management, recycling, and the
construction of robust building frameworks
and riverbank protection, which provides
jobs, mitigates the effects of natural
disasters, and fortifies infrastructure for
potential natural disasters in the future.35
This three-pronged approach stimulates the
economy, reconstructs necessary
infrastructure, and provides youth with a
sense of purpose. UNDP has also helped
coordinate plans for schoolchildren to safely
evacuate during natural disasters, such as
by helping Haiti’s Directorate of Civil
Protection to better prepare for emergencies,
develop risk management systems, and
implement long-term sustainable
development policies.36 37
A notable UNDP contribution to
youth development is SHIFT— the UNDP
Week of Innovative Action—consisting of 5
days of “design jams, inspirational talks,
and an innovation fair, [and] a 48-hour
hack-a-thon.” UNDP has also contributed38
to Lidé—translating to “idea” in Creole—
which is a bus transformed into a mobile
innovation center to convey and help
mobilize the ideas and goals of unemployed
Haitian youth. Lidé’s self-proclaimed39
mission statement is to ‘strengthen social
cohesion through economic inclusion.” It40
offers young people access to the
technology and coaching required to
develop their ideas and initiatives directly
into their neighborhood. Lidé has trained
300 young people in entrepreneurship and
has given training to nearly a hundred
Haitian youths who showed interest in
financial accounting, creating a business
Schoolgirls in Cap-Haitien. Young
Haitian women are more likely than their
male counterparts to drop out of school
early. (5)
When violence is normalized in society,
Haitian youth may be further
compelled to disassociate from their
communities and desert peacebuilding
efforts.

plan, and marketing. Outstanding41
participants were given a grant of 500 to
1500 US dollars to start a business, receive
technical support, or found a social
development project. Example programs42
include organic chocolate companies,
electronic and computer services, library
and book-sharing initiatives, restaurants
with Creole cuisine, and a production-based
Haitian native plants for fragrances.43
Programs such as Lidé empower the most
disenfranchised in society—providing
outlets for hope, intellectual stimulation,
creativity, and a sense of inclusion—whilst
stimulating the economy. They also44
demonstrate the innovation and
entrepreneurial potential of young Haitians
when given the basic resources.
YOUTH LED IMPACT
The potential contribution of young
Haitians as effective peacebuilding and
reconstruction forces has received little
international and domestic attention and
support. This is a major obstruction, as it is
a formidable challenge to foster social
cohesion and trust amidst a traumatized
and conflicted society. Successful capacity-
building and peace-building efforts
recognize that these spheres (better word?)
are overlapping and inseparable and must
be addressed in tandem. Haitian youth face
the overlapping dilemmas of lack of
education, health resources, and social
security nets, friendship and solidarity, and
livelihood opportunities. This demonstrates
the duality of the impact of youth on peace:
youth in Haiti can either be despondent and
apathetic or they can be innovative and
resilient forces for social cohesion and
hope. As violent conflict and poverty45
disintegrate the social fabric of
communities, youth organizations can play
a vital role as they are often closely
connected to their communities and rely on
them for safe, positive, supportive
relationships and enhance the peace
building agency of youth. Young Haitians
can find solidarity in youth-driven
organizations which acknowledge the
potential of youth in leadership roles to
transform their surroundings and be vocal
and active members in their communities.46
Successful peace-oriented groups and
organizations situate themselves in the daily
realities of Haitian youth and empower
youth be driving decision-makers and
motivators.
One of UNDP’s contributions to youth
development in Haiti is the SHIFT
Program— UNDP Week of Innovative
Action, 5 days of jams, innovation
fairs, inspirational talks, and a 48-hour
hackathon
A young woman stands by her home in
an informal settlement after the 2010
Earthquake (6)

There is much overlap between
youth-led impact initiatives and existing
NGOs, and many youth-led and youth-
driven initiatives are implemented in
conjunction with existing NGOs. Non-
governmental organizations also play a
signiﬁcant role in Haitian youth
development— no other country has as
many NGOs per capita as Haiti.47
Accusations of corruption against the
Haitian government have diverted a large
portion of aid resources to the privatized
social sector; Haitians have begun to dryly
refer to their country as “the republic of
NGOs.” Some notable organizations48
include the American Red Cross, which
aims to improve the mental and physical
well-being of youth, bolster economic
opportunity, and provide training and
volunteer opportunities to be engaged and
informed citizens. L’Institut Sacre Cœur du
Cap-Haitien was recently featured at the
UN 10th Anniversary of Community
Violence Reduction Programmes event for
its work in socio-cultural development,
skills training, and civic leadership. The49
NGO Haiti 155 aims to build sustainable
economic change by empowering Haitians
to inspire change at the grassroots levels.
Organizations such as HYDE—Haiti Youth
and Development— provide a useful
template for this engagement by refocusing
youth from the challenges in daily life and
use sports, music, and education to
motivate youths and their parents to stay
positive whilst facing bleak social and
economic circumstances. The Inter-50
American Development Bank hosts a
program called “YouthBuild Haiti
Reconstruction Academy”, a three year
program to improve well being and
economic prospects for almost 5,000 16-26
year old women and men in seven
communities by increasing their livelihood
skills. The FOKAL Project brings youth-51
led discussions, consultations, and public
hearings throughout the country, giving
youth an open forum to voice their concerns
and aspirations on matters of rule of law,
economics and development, gender
equality, identity, and social welfare.52
Outlets for dialogue, open listening, and
community support are essential for youth
to feel inspired to promote social change.
UNDP has been training volunteers
to reach out to their own demographic and
frame issues in a manner that is more
accessible to young people. Similarly,53
UNICEF has worked with the Haitian
Ministry of Public Health and Population
and local organizations to equip youth with
smartphones to record the locations of
health and safety hazards, medical facilities
and dangerous areas to paint a real-time
portrait of the risk factors of their
neighborhoods. This program also54
informed youths of HIV risks, transmission
and prevention, in conjunction with the
information generated from the UNICEF-
Children take a break from UNICEF-led job training
(7)

GIS digital mapping platform. Programs55
like these equip young Haitians to take
control of their environments—with which
they are the most familiar with—and
empowers them to make a change, feel a
sense of purpose, and communicate with
their peers, with whom they are the most
efficient disseminators of information. For
peacebuilding efforts to be sustainable, it is
integral that youth take play a major
planning and implementation role.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Capacity building is the first major
step to empower youth as peacebuilders
because it is impossible to separate youth
from the larger development context of
Haiti. The broad and interlocking challenges
that Haiti faces will require extensive
capacity building efforts at the institutional,
social, and individual levels. Peace building
interventions through job training or
infrastructure projects are good starts as
small part of a larger series of advancement.
Unfortunately, though, these programs
alone tend to be “temporary and
unsustainable, failing to generate enough
jobs to change the economic reality of
poverty and unemployment or to decisively
alter the incentive structures faced by
marginalized youth.” The multitudinous56
peace-building platforms in Haiti do not
share data or common strategies to
streamline their efforts, creating a disparate
collection of well-intentioned but futile
efforts. They do not acknowledge that
Haiti’s peacebuilding situation is
determined by the various social, political,
and economic factors that obstruct youth’s
path to success and prosperity. Until they
do, episodic unrest and political turmoil
resulting from widespread poverty and
exclusion will remain rampant . Haiti’s57
history, combined with the social and
poverty indicators, show that youth should
not be seen as a problem, but as a product of
the family and community environment
and therefore should be treated as a
potential solution to Haiti’s development
challenges. Including youth is a two-58
pronged approach by simultaneously
building opportunities for Haitian youth
and garnering more accurate, truthful data
with those who know their communities the
best.
Creating job opportunities and
steering the education system to
accommodate the needs of the labor market
would help young Haitians trying to find
jobs, an essential building block of the
peacemaking process. Haitian youth could59
also benefit greatly from role models,
guidance, expectations, and contacts in the
forms of parents or educators to keep them
in school and inspired to find
It is impossible to separate
youth empowerment from
the larger development
context of Haiti.
Peace building interventions
through job training or
infrastructure projects are good
starts as small part of a larger
series of advancement.

employment. Affirmation from peers, role60
models, and contacts to guide and motivate
young Haitians. It is understood that
support and modeling from the community,
focusing on increasing accountability and
setting expectations will help motivate
Haitian youth to stay in school and be more
successful in their employment. According
to the World Bank, more emphasis should
be placed on teachers as role models and
motivators, as “the general level of trust in
schools and in teachers’ skills is great. This
trust motivates most parents to send their
children to school although public provision
is scarce and quality is unregulated.” For61
youth-driven and youth-motivated policies
to succeed, young people need to be
rewarded or have some form of positive
encouragement, from program operators or
each other. Otherwise, they may feel that
their work is amounting to nothing and that
they are wasting their time. Equipping62
youth as outreach officers may be more
successful for public education because they
are better acquainted with the obstacles of
daily life and may encourage each other to
be more active in their communities.63
Successful peacebuilding initiatives will be
acquainted with these contexts.
Targeting at-risk youth needs to be
based not only on income poverty
indicators but also on a number of risk and
protective factors. Instead of considering64
only the blatantly evident signs of direct
failures such as youth committing robbery
or using drugs, there are other indicators of
poor prospects for the future. Such negative
transitions may be observed dropping out
of school, a general sense of hopelessness,
and poor financial conditions which will
help identify key prevention points.65
Feeling safe is important for a young person
to be able to go to school, work, the market,
explore neighboring communities, towns,
and cities, and to have social relations.66
More successful peace-building efforts
approach it as a social topic rather than a
law enforcement issue. This addresses the
underlying causes— such as social
exclusion and economic marginalization--
which can lead to community violence and
disaccord. This is why it is crucial to67
improve conditions for youth in their
respective households and neighborhoods,
in order to decrease crime and violence in
the future. In addition, further research on68
youth and the labor market should consider
the gender issue in greater detail. Programs
should be encouraged to assume a gendered
perspective, giving special emphasis to
young Haitian women to remain in school,
as they are more likely to drop out of school
and earn lower incomes than their male
counterparts.
Strong communities and the fortified
economic, social, and political foundations
on which they rely are important deterrents
to the numerous and interlocking forms of
violence and inopportunity faced by young
UNDP-Led Course on seismic activity (8)

Haitians. Well-designed, bottom-up
engagement programs are necessary.
Indeed, young Haitians can be important
drivers and agents of change in the
development of their society, as they are
tasked with the guiding the direction of
Haiti’s future. Haitian youth are receptive to
feedback, entrepreneurial, ambitious,
innovative, and thirsty for change. Young69
Haitians are vital stakeholders in conflict-
prevention and peacebuilding— they have
the potential to act as as community leaders
in peace building, reconciliation, and post-
conflict reconstruction. On the other hand,
when youth are not included in the political
process and feel excluded from the rest of
society, they may desert civil engagement
entirely and gravitate towards organized
crime and other groups which undermine
the rule of law. The Haitian government70
needs to be compelled and then assisted to
design and implement public employment
and engagement schemed specifically for
youth which analyzes the links between
employment and reduced crime.71
It cannot be reiterated enough that
the underlying social, economic, and
political dynamics of Haiti are unresponsive
to unidimensional approaches and limit the
effectiveness and sustainability of patchy,
disparate, and temporary interventions.72
As Haiti faces formidable challenges
in nearly every sector of development, the
role of youth in peacebuilding can assume
many forms. Capacity building is essential
to equip Haiti—and its young population—
with the basic tools to improve their
surroundings. Haitian youth’s struggles
cannot be solved by new departments, job
trainings, or extracurricular programs; there
will need to be true and drastic measures
taken to improve quality of life in Haiti as a
whole to create the environment for youth
peacebuilding efforts to thrive. This does
not mean that youth engagement should be
considered a lost cause— Haitian youth’s
innovation, entrepreneurial ambition, and
in-depth knowledge of their surroundings
make them critical assets for Haiti’s future
and inspire hopefulness (different word?)
for the country’s future. Haiti—and its
young population who will be held
accountable for the country as time moves
on—will not make progress until these
foundations are in place.
HAITI: RECOMMENDATIONS
✴ Empower youth at the most foundational level, including them at every phase
of the development process
✴ Structural changes to empower youth are necessary to sustainably create
economic and societal change within Haiti
✴ Frame peacebuilding as a development issue rather than a law enforcement one
✴ Encourage programs that foster peer counseling and deter youth from entering
cycles of organized crime
✴ Investigate the role of gender in youth and peacebuilding contexts.
✴ Preserve a sense of hope through informing youth of positive economic change

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 
BACKGROUND
The dual-island nation of Trinidad
and Tobago is situated in the Caribbean Sea
just off the northeast coast of Venezuela. The
country is known for its beautiful beaches,
calypso music and festive Carnival. It is
home to nearly 1, 364, 973 people, with an
economy that relies heavily on energy
commodities such as oil and gas and has
very high literacy rates at nearly 99% of the
total population. According to UNDP,73
trends in the demography of Trinidad and
Tobago show an aging population and a
slowing rate of population growth and
declining fertility, meaning that cultivating
the needs of youth are and should be the
utmost of importance. Nevertheless,
Trinidad and Tobago is a flourishing nation
that typically enjoys high GDP and low
unemployment rates but continues to face
issues such as increased organized crime
and violence, poverty and access to
healthcare. Because the twin-islands are an
illicit transit location for drug and weapon
traffickers persistent and related crimes
plague local communities. As a consequence
of the drug trade, findings show that the
prevalence of gangs and gang related
violence is now being perpetrated at
increasingly younger ages and is affecting
both boys and girls in Trinidad and Tobago.
According to “self reported data from
school-aged youth in ten Caribbean
countries (Trinidad and Tobago included),
between 17-24 %of males and 11-16 % of
females admitted to having been involved
in gangs. Perpetuation of gang violence is74
a direct result of the increased exposure to
it, of which youths are also reporting. Not75
only are youth facing the allure of violence,
but also health issues such as teenage
pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections such as HIV. To combat these76
challenges, UNDP and other relevant civil
society actors have implemented programs
that work to educate youth, provide
vocational training and empowerment.
Youth development programs remain a
prominent force in Trinidad and Tobago and
are becoming the standard as they are being
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO:
YOUTH FACTS
✴ Population: 1.341 million
between 12-29
34.2%
✴ Youth unemployment: 10%
๏Youth unemployment Ages 15-24
๏Unemployment Rate
๏Population Below National Poverty Line

integrated into schools, community centers
and the daily fabric of society. By
investigating the institutionalization of
these youth participatory mechanisms,
connections can be made as to how youth
are thus contributing to the broader scope of
peace and security in Trinidad and Tobago.
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS IN
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
There are numerous programs for
youth in Trinidad and Tobago, however
only a handful are direct “peacebuilding”
initiatives, which address the direct
challenges facing youth. While youth are
typically beneﬁciaries of these programs,
many of these programs allow them to take
initiative and serve as leaders in their
communities. Many reports prepared by
UNDP or NGOs in Trinidad and Tobago
state they are working “at improving
participation in the democratic process,
especially among under-represented or
marginalized groups.” However many still77
feel these programs are inaccessible and
only privy to a more educated, urban, elite
demographic. According to a focus group
cited in the Regional Human Development
Report for Latin America and the
Caribbean“All the systems do exist but the
systems do not consider the poor... Whilst
the systems are in place, the systems are in
place for people who can access the
systems.”
Having a more inclusive framework
encourages youth of all identities to come
forward and engage with one another.
Programs are typically implemented in
schools and encourage youth leadership
and civic participation while educating
them on prominent issues such as
sustainable development and in turn the
SDGs. Trinidad and Tobago is a leader in
youth development as they value
volunteerism, participation and
engagement. Their comprehensive National
Youth Policy spans from 2012-2017 and
delves into the drivers of youth instability—
gang violence, lack of education or
integration etc. Many youth programs and
youth policy in Trinidad and Tobago are
holistically driven considering institutional
support, familial and religious
organizations that work to service young
people. The National Youth Policy states
that youth development is a national issue
that everyone must take part in. Youth in
Trinidad and Tobago have the mechanisms
in place to enact change and take a more
participatory role, it is just a matter of
ensuring those mechanisms are sound and
monitored to ensure they are in fact
fostering the needs of the youth.
JUVENILE COURT PROJECT
(JCP)
UNDP and the Judiciary, with
funding from USAID, have implemented a
Police in Trinidad and Tobago (1)

program entitled Juvenile Court Project,
which “aims to strengthen the capacity of
the Judiciary to deal with children matters
using a rehabilitative, restorative and less
retributive approach.” This project78
integrates youth participation through a
branch of JCP called Peer Resolution, which
provides training to prepare youth to serve
as Peer Assessors, Peer Advocates and Peer
Judges. After intensive training based on
restorative justice and court room protocols
the Peers then hear cases of minors who
have committed minor offenses, and then
proceed to provide sanctions in order to
hold their peers accountable. The training79
includes guidance and feedback from
experts in this ﬁeld, and this youth-led
approach allows for learning opportunities
for those who have done wrong and also
leadership roles for youth who wish to seek
them. The program is being piloted in two
ways: school based and court-annexed.80
Currently it has been implemented in four
secondary schools in Tobago during the fall
of 2015 with Tobago House of Assembly.
According to the JCP website, the pilot
program operates on a basic level within
schools, so if a student breaks a rule the
student can choose to have their matter
heard in a Peer Resolution where they can
then receive sanctions from peers. While the
court annexed JCP has a Judge or Master of
the Children Court refer a child (ﬁrst time
minor offender for example) to Peer
Resolution. Parental and participant
consent is necessary to move forward. JCP
of Trinidad and Tobago states they have 118
children and 46 adults who will be trained
to serve in various Court annexed PR
roles. As the program spreads and81
increases young peoples knowledge of the
criminal justice systems, and helps foster
accountability at a young age, the
connection can be made that with more
active civic participation young people will
learn to make improved choices and choose
peace instead of violence and by doing so
avoiding their chances of becoming an
offender or repeat offender.
Strengths
1. Provides less punitive measures to
youth offenders— the restorative justice
aspect of the program provides less
punitive measures and provides
Celebrating Volunteering: UNDP (2)
Juvenile Youth Project: UNDP (3)

sanctions including: behavioral
programs, education workshops,
counseling, restitution etc. Peer
resolution does no determine the guilt of
children but rather provides a learning
opportunity.
2. Strengthening of relationships between
youth and judicial system— the
program has the potential to cultivate a
more ﬂuid and peaceful relationship
between law enforcement, the judicial
system and youth themselves fostering
mutual respect, understanding and
personal responsibility. This could lead
to the establishment of a youth cadet
program or a youth crime and violence
unit to supplement the efforts of the
Juvenile Court Program.
3. Perceptions of justice and civic
participation— the program provides
an opportunity to create a normative
shift in the way youth perceive justice
and civic participation. One youth, who
was convicted to the Youth Training
Centre and quoted in the Juvenile Court
Project blog stated “We follow what we
see…there are few good role models.”82
The program provides youth the
opportunity to become good role models to
other youths in their communities, and the
fact that 40 and counting youths have
already participated in this training
indicates a need and interest in this area.
Why is this program important?
Institutionalization as opposed to
rehabilitation is oftentimes the route taken
for youth offenders. This program educates
youth on basic legal framework and
provides an entry point to the realm of civic
engagement at a young age. With this
knowledge they perhaps can encourage
their friends to stray from violence if they
are more aware of the intricacies of the
system and the hardships and realities of
the consequences. It also fosters a more
holistic reintegration that educates
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JCP
✴ Continued outreach for the Juvenile Court
Project utilizing social media outlets and
regional training programs to engage rural
youth through their schools and
communities
✴ Provide follow up conferences on youth
leadership after young people have
participated in JCP where evaluations can
be conducted and further leadership
development
✴ Consider a peer mentorship program that
connects interested young people with one
another and helps a young offender with
reintegration
JCP Comic (4)

offenders as opposed to ostracizing and
punishing them.
PHOENIX PROJECT
The Phoenix Project, a collaborative
effort between the Teocah Dove Legacy
Foundation, The Canadian High
Commission, UNDP Caribbean Youth Think
Tank and BoldLeaders (a U.S. based NGO)
is an evidence based social intervention that
works to rehabilitate juvenile offenders in a
holistic manner. The program targets at-risk
youth using an interventionist model that
also provides training and support to
institution staff. Interventions focus on
working through traumas that may have
caused the young people to act out. The
program uses simulations and has the
young people relive those traumas and then
utilizes a variety of techniques to deal with
the related emotions and distress. For
example, yoga, art therapy and practicing
mindfulness are all used. As well as family
therapy that works to minimize risk and
vulnerability once the offender is released
by mending familial relationships that
might have exacerbated stress or bred a
toxic environment.
Youth in institutions are often
immobilized for several years and fall prey
to repeat offending and the cycle of
violence. Therefore, working on providing
offenders with skills, education and
conﬁdence while they are institutionalized
will better prepare, competent members of
their society and community. Project
Phoenix is different than JCP because while
JCP ensures youth are bettered served
within the justice system, Project Phoenix
assists respondents after they have already
dealt with the justice system and are
moving forward. It interacts with young
people holistically addressing their mental
well being, emotional and physical, while
monitoring behavioral changes in a closer
environment. Incepted in 2016, evidence
collected from the pilot year will help
inform policy and improve services for at-
risk youth in a more inclusive framework.
CONNECTION: PEACE AND
SECURITY
Mitigating the perpetration of youth crime
is vital in stabilizing a region plagued by
cycles of violence. It begins with youth
and by implementing preventative and
restorative mechanisms to address crime,
violence and inequalities civil society, the
government and UNDP are taking a more
proactive approach to peace and security
as opposed to reactive, when it is already
too late. Instilling values of self esteem
and understanding while providing
structure, as one Peer Resolution trainee,
Julien Skeete of Tobago stated, “will not
only deal with the child we save today,
but the adult we save tomorrow.”

Strengths
1. Address and remedy root causes of
vulnerable youth— according to Teocah
Dove, creator and facilitating consultant
of the project, altering the methods of
how institutions serve youth was
important. Instead of hard or retributive
punishment for young offenders a more
comprehensive approach was needed,
one that addressed why these young
people might be struggling in the first
place. By addressing violence, crime and
familial struggles the program attempts
to understand youth and their motives
and create teachable moments instead of
strictly punishing them.83
2. Encourages collaboration between the
government, juvenile institutions and
NGOs— this program commandeered a
multifaceted approach that integrated
specialists from civil society
(BoldLeaders), the UN (UNDP
Caribbean Think Tank) and the
government. This type of approach that
engages youth and integrates their needs
and potential into a formal setting is
exactly what will usher in normative
changes that encourage more respect
and dignity for youth.
3. Inform policy makers, provide insight to
stakeholders, strengthen the capacity of
institutions— the experiences of youth
and institutional staff workers can help
inform policy makers as to what
approaches they should take when
The institutionalization of youth initiatives and youth oriented
programs in Trinidad and Tobago are a direct result of
effective multi-sectoral and collaborative partnerships. With
the collaboration of civil society, UNDP and the Department
of Youth Affairs, the youth along with relevant leaders in
Trinidad and Tobago have the power to harness and
mobilize pooled resources in order to help cultivate youth
potential. The Phoenix Project is a great example of effective
collaboration and multifaceted efforts. Such partnerships
can help reinforce responsibility and accountability of youth
pilot programs which could help turn programs into policy.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
PHOENIX PROJECT
✴ Consider long term funding of evidence
based programs—consider small grants
programs that are rewarded after
successful pilot years
✴ Strengthen the collection of data to
collect evidence, surveys and
feedback that will measure the
success of programs
✴ Consider creating a youth reintegration
employment agency that helps integrate
youth offenders into the work force
upon release

assisting and reintegrating young
offenders. That way they are taking a
more holistic approach and considering
the root causes of why youth are
offending. Youth may then feel like they
are being heard and valued and more
inclined to collaborate with ofﬁcials.
Data and surveys taken from this
program can help bolster support for
institutional intervention, providing
more long term funding to ensure
longevity of the program.
Why is this important?
This program grants participants
respect and a second chance. It also
challenges the traditional institutional
system of punishment. By structuring their
time when youth are institutionalized, the
program promotes self-esteem, healthy
recreation, sense of service, and provides an
outlet for them to express their grievances
and work through them. The program
address the root causes of why youth might
have offended such as unhealthy family
situations, victims of abuse and violence or
ostracization etc. The program works to
empower participants and grant them
respect they may feel has been taken away.
Through therapy and mindfulness the
program prepares youth to handle the
challenges of our world helping inform a
more global citizen. Having more global
citizens means having more youth who
have the skills to work through issues
peacefully and informatively thus
contributing to peacebuilding efforts.
Connection: Peace and Security
By implementing programs that
engage and target youth who may feel
disenfranchised and marginalized, this
program in essence is serving as a
peacebuilding mechanism. Providing a
space for all youth identities allows for a
more inclusive society, where tolerance is
practiced and all are valued. While it may
not seem like a traditional peacebuilding
tactic, youth who are willing to take part in
this program and resist the cycle of violence
and the urge to ﬁnd belonging in gangs or
other outlets are thus choosing peace.
AGENTS OF CHANGE: TRINIDAD
AND TOBAGO YOUTH
PARLIAMENT
The National Youth Parliament is
conducted under the Trinidad and Tobago
Branch of the Commonwealth. Students in
sixth form from schools around the country
participate in a mock Parliamentary Debate.
By engaging in mock parliaments youth are
able to learn and understand the pillars of
democracy and civil society and are able to
express their ideas and opinions. According
to the National Youth Parliament, the
objectives of the Parliament are as follows:
● Foster youth development through
social dialogue
Participants at the Trinidad and Tobago
Youth Parliament: UNDP (5)

● Grant young people the opportunity
to have their views heard by
decisions makers and the public
● Help young people understand and
participate in the parliamentary
process
● Help young people learn how to
influence governmental decision
making
● Highlight the importance of helping
young people understand how
decisions are made and how they can
be involved in influencing their
worlds84
This program serves as a
peacebuilding initiative because youth can
act as agents of change by presenting their
ideas on a platform to key officials. This
type of experiential learning provides youth
with tangible “real world” experience. The
youth parliament is a clear entry point into
the realm of civic engagement and youth
are given the tools to navigate it. It is a
proactive attempt to prepare youth for their
civic duties and by integrating them into
these discussions ensures a youth
perspective on prominent issues in the
world and the country. 
OTHER NOTEWORTHY
INITIATIVES
SIDS Youth Focal Point:
The SIDS youth focal point from
Trinidad and Tobago is tasked with
initiating outreach to other young people
from SIDS, facilitating online meetings/
discussions with young people from SIDS,
providing input and policy
recommendations advocating from a youth
perspective, learning more about SDGs and
2030 Agenda, sharing opportunities with
youth and help build the capacity of young
people to enable increased participation in
UN 2030 Agenda.
Tobago Roxborough Police Youth Club:
The mission of this group is to
“provide youths in the community with
resources that would help facilitate holistic
development.” The club provides discipline
for young people in the community in
order to reduce crime by structuring leisure
time in a productive manner.

SAINT LUCIA 
CONTEXT AND CHALLENGES OF
YOUTH AND PEACEBUILDING IN
SAINT LUCIA
Saint Lucia is a small Caribbean
island state with a population of 164,464,
with over 36% of the population under 24
years old. Regarding population85
distribution and urbanization, the majority
of the population live on the periphery of
Saint Lucia, with concentration in the north
of the island surrounding the capital of
Castries, bringing the island’s urban
population size to nearly 19%. Challenges86
to the island nation include high
unemployment, organized crime, a reactive
economy, and high public debt. Organized
crime presents the greatest challenge to
peacebuilding and citizen security. Similar
to many other Caribbean countries, Saint
Lucia is a trade point for illicit South
American drugs en route to North America
and Europe. High crime rates due to gang
activity and the drug trade, such as
homicide, assault, and robbery persist.
As a small island developing state
with a 24.9% unemployment rate (170/208
globally) lack of employment opportunities
present a serious roadblock to economic
development and growth. The economy87 88
depends primarily on tourism, the
manufacturing sector, and exporting crops
such as bananas and mangos. Given the
small size of the economy, Saint Lucia is
vulnerable to external shocks. Public debt
made up 77% of Saint Lucia’s GDP in 2012,
restricting the country’s ability to invest in
social services. Saint Lucia’s Human89
Development Index (HDI) is relatively high
for a small island nation, encouragingly, the
nation has experienced considerable
increases in life expectancy and schooling
over the last 30 years. Despite high rates of
education, the majority of the unemployed
population are youth, with a youth
unemployment rate of 27.5%. Therefore,90
creating opportunities for youth which
provide opportunities for employment and
political participation is crucial to creating a
peaceful and empowered society.
YOUTH INTERVENTIONS IN
SAINT LUCIA
There are few direct “peacebuilding”
interventions on youth in Saint Lucia.
Rather, many youth-centered projects in
Saint Lucia seek to tackle the drivers of
youth instability and marginalization by
SAINT LUCIA: YOUTH FACTS
✴ Population: 164,464
between 15 and 29 years old. For
operational purposes different actors
have used other classiﬁcations (i.e. 10 –
35 and other)
26%
✴ Youth unemployment: between 27.5%
and 34%, depending on youth
deﬁnition

boosting youth participation and
empowerment across sectors. Many of these
interventions prompt youth to lead their
communities through entrepreneurial
initiatives (ex: employment innovation,
sustainable development innovations). The
goal of these efforts to boost youth
leadership through innovation in their
communities is to improve citizen security
in Saint Lucia, while also guiding Saint
Lucia towards embracing the SDGs in the
coming years. It is important to note some
large gaps in Saint Lucia’s federal youth
policy which impacts youth participation in
many respects. The current National Youth
Policy was published in 2000. This
document is severely outdated, and leaves
federal policy far behind the lived reality of
young Saint Lucians, such as the mass-scale
youth unemployment caused by the 2008
recession.
Saint Lucia has recognized this
deficit and is currently drafting an updated
National Youth Policy which was scheduled
to be released in April 2016, but has not yet
been completed. During the process the
government has requested technical
assistance and feedback from youth. The
call for technical assistance poses a great
opportunity for development actors,
including UNDP, to meaningfully shape
Saint Lucia’s policy to be inclusive for
youth. This national drafting process also
provides opportunity for UNDP to provide
Saint Lucia has taken substantive action to combat climate
change and its impacts, partially through the empowerment of
youth. This is exemplified in the Global Environment Facility
Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) thriving in Saint Lucia
today. The 2016-2019 GEF SGP Country Programme Strategy
places greater emphasis on climate appropriate technologies
and mechanisms which are in line with national and global
sustainable development targets, as well as a focus on
community empowerment to identify threats, define solutions
and implement appropriate actions.
CITIZEN SECURITY
Citizen security is associated with “security against
the threat of crime or violence and is used to refer
to the paramount security of individuals and social
groups.” The shift to a citizen security approach
responds to the relationship between the state and
the citizenry, by highlighting the need of
institutions to serve the Caribbean people more
effectively and address their unmet needs. This
concept is a response to the history of inequality,
discrimination and violent crime in the region,
which demands action at the community level.
Promoting the concept of citizen security is a call to
action for both governments and institutions and
individual citizens. Achieving citizen security
requires the engagement of citizens and
governments to promote human rights and
liberties, addressing drivers of violent crime, and
promoting innovative solutions to create
opportunities to improve the wellbeing of
communities.

development support at a higher level in
Saint Lucia, as the majority of UNDP
projects are through the Small Grants
Program and subsequently are at the
grassroots level. Strategic support for
National Youth Policy also provides
opportunity to increase synergy between
UNDP HQ, the regional centre and the
UNCT.
SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS:
UNDP AND BEYOND
UNDP projects in Saint Lucia tend to be
small scale not only because of the small
size of the country, but also because of its
current emphasis on the Global
Environment Facility Small Grants Country
Programme (GEF SGP). In 2013, the former
Resident Coordinator for Barbados and
OECS, Michelle Gyles McDonnough
commented on this point, noting that the
Saint Lucia Country Programme Strategy
(CPS) for GEF SGP in the 2016-2019 period
would to focus “more and more on
upscaling projects.” Indeed, the 2016-1991
Saint Lucia CPS requires all projects have
the following criteria points: (i) potential for
upscaling, (ii) potential for significant
backward and forward linkages, (iii) the
ability to create a ‘buffer zone’ in the
production landscape and (iv) address the
level of threats to endemic and threatened
species.92
Partnerships play a particularly important role in both
achieving the SDGs and empowering youth as powerful
agents of change. This is exemplified in the
SocialInnov4Change project in Saint Lucia, where UNDP
relied on Saint Lucia’s National Youth Council to assist with
outreach to youth across the island, ultimately resulting in a
more successful program. Strong partnerships can make
the difference between a successful project and one which
does not effectively accomplish its agenda. To reach the
most vulnerable groups, and realize the theme of leave no
one behind, partnerships are more crucial than ever in the
interconnected 2030 agenda.
CONNECTION: YOUTH AND
PEACE AGENDA
Youth are viewed as both perpetrators and
victims of violence within their communities, and
studies display that “across the Caribbean, youth
are the primary perpetrators and victims of
crime.” However, the programs examined within
this case study tell a crucial story- youth are also
incredible entrepreneurs of change. The
Caribbean Human Development Report
published in 2012 found that “over 80 percent of
the youth surveyed indicated their willingness to
work towards the reduction of violence.”
Harnessing youth’s desire to promote peace
through involving them in citizen security and
sustainable development agendas are central to
reducing violent crime and achieving peace.

Beyond UNDP, there are several
important actors sparking youth
participation and entrepreneurship in Saint
Lucia today. Three highlights include: The
Youth Advocacy Alliance, the International
Youth Federation, the Saint Lucia National
Youth Council and the CARICOM
Commission on Youth Development.
UNDP SOCIALINNOV4CHANGE
PROGRAM
The UNDP SocialInnov4Change
program was originally piloted in Saint
Kitts and Nevis in 2014 and was expanded
to Saint Lucia in 2015. The program was
launched in Saint Lucia through a Youth
Ideation Workshop on August 2015, which
asked youth participants to come together
to reimagine Saint Lucia 10 years in the
future, and to submit ideas to improve
citizen security. The selected ideas received
$2,000 of funding for implementation in
October of 2015, after a competitive
application process over the fall. Youth and
youth organizations which received grants
participated in an additional workshop to
assist them in planning and implementing
their projects. The program slogan is
‘empowering youth to drive change’, and is
particularly focused on preventing the rise
of violent crime in the region, in which
young people are viewed as both victims
and perpetrators. The competition was open
to youth between the ages of 16 and 35 in
Saint Lucia.93
CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES
OF THE PROGRAM
Overall, the SocialInnov4change has
been quite successful; of the six projects
which received funding in St Kitts, five were
successfully implemented. Several
important lessons were learned during the
initial launch of the program in St Kitts,
which allowed the program to achieve even
more effective results when it was launched
in Saint Lucia the following year. The
program staff identified the need to
improve outreach to at-risk youth, reflecting
that they had not fully reached the target
population in St Kitts. This resulted in
SocialInnov4Change’s decision to partner
with Saint Lucia's National Youth Council to
increase outreach through the local
networks and a more careful consideration
“At UNDP, we see youth as catalyst and agents of economic and social
transformation. But in order to harness their potential, we must provide them with
the opportunities. It is important that we facilitate their participation in decision
making, by not only listening to them but also in creating spaces and improving the
framework for their effective participation and contribution to society.”
—Ms. Chisa Mikami, Deputy Resident Representative of Barbados.

of the factors that might prevent youth from
participating (travel, lack of stipend, etc).
Beyond the positive impacts that the
implemented projects have had on
communities, the SocialInnov4Change
program serves as a launching platform for
youth to enter other competitions to scale
up their projects, or to continue to compete
if they did not receive funding. For
example, one participant in the Social
Innov4change competition who proposed a
medical health registry, but did not receive
funding, continued to reﬁne his idea and
recently received funding through a
different competition. The Social
Innov4Change program is currently
working with St Vincent and Grenadines to
provide technical support in implementing
yet another program similar, displaying the
strength of the program’s scalability and
strong platform to generate creativity.  94
Youth at UNDP’s SocialInnov4Change
EMERGING PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: YOUTH EMPOWERED FOR LIFE
PROJECT
At the end of October 2016, the Caribbean Development Bank approved 3.7 million dollars
of funding to empower at risk youth in Saint Lucia. The program hopes to improve
security in Saint Lucia and reduce crime by providing youth with more economic and social
opportunities. Their plans to accomplish these goals are still in the preliminary stages, and
include the following approaches: expand existing social services, enlarge existing Youth
Court Diversion Programmes, develop additional community based programs (such as
after school and summer programs), and invest in the safety and quality of public spaces
such as parks. The program will also allocate funding to hold a regional symposium on
community based policing to address crime and insecurity. Due to the very recent
announcement of the funds from the bank, little information is yet known about the project
details. This will be a crucial project to track and monitor successes and challenges over the
next year, given the positive impact and potential it represents.
“Through [Youth Empowered for
Life] Project, we hope to divert
young people away from crime
and violence, and enable them to
make positive contributions to
their households, communities
and wider society. The Project
was designed to meet the needs of
different age groups and genders,
and we are optimistic about the
outcomes it will achieve.”
—Deidre Clarendon, Division Chief, Social
Sector Division, CDB.

YOUTH IN ACTION: SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES
Name Summary of Intervention and Analysis
Saint Lucia Youth
Business Trust
(SLYBT)
SLYBT assists young people in developing entrepreneurial skills. This includes
access to start-up capital, business mentoring, networking, advisory and marketing
support services. SLYBT is part of The Commonwealth Alliance of Young
Entrepreneurs-Caribbean & Canada, an alliance aiming to “contribute to regional
sustainable development by helping to increase the numbers of young
entrepreneurs who grow businesses, create jobs, change lives and ensure future
economic prosperity.”
This intervention is strong in all regards, with the exception of having no direct
peacebuilding connection. SLYBT excels in utilizing effective channels to reach
youth, as seen use of social media through its Facebook page. SLYBT is significant
because it is built around the common trade partners Saint Lucia has in the
Caribbean, but also seeks to expand Saint Lucia-Canada trade and business
relations. It is thus targeting Saint Lucia’s broader strategic economic interests,
while also elevating youth participation in business spaces. This youth participation
will dually drive down Saint Lucia’s high youth unemployment and
disenfranchisement.
Saint Lucia
Chamber of
Commerce,
Industry, and
Agriculture
The Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture describes itself as
a “promoter, trainer, advocate, business opportunity interlocutor, researcher and
community representative. Most of all, the Chamber has served as a "partner"
facilitating and working with the business community to help them in their pursuit
of growth and prosperity.”
The Chamber’s Junior Achievement Program only impacted a total of 4,000 young
people in 2016. The Chamber also expresses its support for the Saint Lucia Youth
Business Trust, noted above, but offers little information on what the Chamber’s
contribution looks like. The Chamber’s website requests donations to support the
SLYBT, suggesting possible underfunding for their youth programming.
Given the mandate of the Chamber, it should be doing much more to support youth
employment in Saint Lucia. While the mandate indicates the Chamber’s current
shortcomings, it also poses a strong opportunity for partnership with development
actors in Saint Lucia.
Innovations in
Civic Participation
(ICP): Project Saint
Lucia
Project Saint Lucia is a youth-focused and youth-run program designed to
empower young people in Saint Lucia and spark interest in community
involvement and volunteer work. The work done by Project Saint Lucia is a direct
response to trends outlined in a study by the World Bank, which found an upward
trend among young people in the Caribbean in drug trafficking, HIV/AIDS
infection, adolescent pregnancies and other risky behavior. Project Saint Lucia is
attempting to harness the energy and vitality of its young people and channel it
toward civic engagement activities to address these issues. Project Saint Lucia is
unique in that it is directly tying the issues of youth civic engagement to issues of
citizen security and peacebuilding. In this regard, Project Saint Lucia excels. The
project does not offer any programming to tackle youth unemployment. Its rhetoric
also frames youth as beneficiaries rather than leaders in their countries future. Their
social media outreach is not substantial but remains stronger than many other Saint
Lucia youth interventions.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Continue comprehensive update to National
Youth Policy. Saint Lucia is currently in the
process of updating the National Youth
Policy, a process which began in the fall
of 2015. This decision to update the policy
can serve as a model for other Caribbean
states to mainstream and revitalize youth
participation. Prior to this update, Saint
Lucia’s last update to the National Youth
Policy was in 2000. The current drafting
process would
benefit from a
p a r t i c i p a t o r y
structure, utilizing
youth feedback
and priorities, as
well as an
awareness of the
previously noted
c h a l l e n g e s
impacting the
country and
region more
broadly.
2. Collaborate with
C h a m b e r o f
Commerce to
encourage youth
focused programming. More collaboration
is needed with the Saint Lucia Chamber
of Commerce. The Saint Lucia Chamber
of Commerce Industry & Agriculture has
two youth-specific programs, but they are
very low-reach and appear to have little
funding.. Currently, UNDP has no formal
ties to the Chamber. Partnership with the
Chamber of Commerce poses a great
opportunity for synergy and
collaboration between the two
organizations. UNDP or other
development actors should provide
strategic policy and program support to
boost the capacity of the Chamber to
support youth.
3. Scale up! Both UNDP and grassroots
initiatives relevant to youth are on a very
small scale: both in terms of scope and
funding. Providing larger grants to
programs and reaching more youth will
lead to more impactful changes, and more
positive benefits to citizen security. This is
why the new project
launched through
the Caribbean
Development Bank,
Youth Empowered
for Life, presents an
i n c r e d i b l e
opportunity given
the substantial
funding provided
4.Expand the focus of
youth outreach
programs. There is a
need to establish
broader youth
o u t re a c h a n d
representation for
youth in UNDP’s non-youth programs;
for example, involve more youth
representatives and employ youth in
climate action and SDG implementation
efforts. Given the focus on climate change
in small island developing states, Saint
Lucia has a unique opportunity to engage
youth to reimagine a more sustainable
future through involving them in grants
across disciplines. 
RECOMMENDATIONS
✴ Continue comprehensive
update to National Youth
Policy
✴ Collaborate with Chamber of
Commerce to encourage youth
focused programming
✴ Scale UP!
✴ Expand the focus of youth
outreach programs

YOUTH VOICES 

RECOMMENDATIONS
Upon reviewing the case study findings, there are several thematic areas where youth
initiatives can be strengthened its practices. Additionally other stakeholders can improve
their policies in order to create new opportunities for youth engagement through
implementation of these best practices. These recommendations evolved from research on
specific UNDP initiatives, as well as other contextual challenges in the Caribbean.
SOCIAL INCLUSION
Oftentimes youth initiatives or programs are privy to a certain demographic; the more
educated, wealthier class. As a result, youth initiatives often fail to accurately represent the
grievances and experiences of youth, particularly those most at risk. Therefore, UNDP
programs should focus on more diverse outreach initiatives that integrate marginalized
populations. Often times educational outreach or recreational outreach has been a priority,
however, outside of the classroom or sports field there is little interaction or outreach.
Engaging youth in non-traditional settings, (ie: outside the realm of sports and classroom
initiatives) or providing them merely with a safe space to express their needs, and sense of
identity is crucial.  
GOVERNMENT/PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDING TO SUPPORT CIVIL
SOCIETY
Our findings indicate that civil society has implemented useful vocational programs,
however, those programs are considered temporary. In order to support the longevity of
these programs governments need to provide additional financing through more success
based funding or perhaps even awarding funding to youth themselves to carry out their
innovations. Many countries around the world already have youth competitions that foster
creativity and inclusiveness. The awarding of small grants to youth who have recommended
the strongest proposal encourages youth participation and assures them that leaders do in
fact value their ideas and contributions.
CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHT: SOCIAL INCLUSION
In Saint Lucia the SocialInnov4Change program identified the need to better involve at risk
youth after being piloted initially in St Kitts. As a result, when the program was launched in
Saint Lucia, UNDP partnered with the Saint Lucia’s National Youth Council to improve
outreach to youth at the local level. Involving local actors to improve outreach to a diverse
array of youth, and removing barriers to youth attendance of programs and initiatives
through providing stipends and scholarships will result in more successful and inclusive
progams.

LOCALLY DRIVEN PROJECTS
Many UNDP projects are based off of assessments of the locals needs and while singularly
inclusive they may not accurately reflect what the people want. Hosting community forums
for various communities and groups to voice their grievances and express what they wish to
see, learn or want from UNDP provides a horizontal platform for local development and
youth participation.
DATA DRIVEN METRICS OF SUCCESS
In order to ensure longevity, programs need to be monitored frequently based on an
assessment criterion. Auditing allows for reflection and improvement. Throughout our
research we found that even certain UNDP country websites were outdated and while they
listed youth programs incepted in 2012, 2013 and onward there was no follow up. It seemed
as if the programs halted, as there was no transparency or information available on the
efficacy of these programs. On a similar note a more concerted effort needs to be made on the
data front in order to track these programs. By accumulating data which could be used as a
barometer of success could help inform government officials that might be more inclined to
fund programs they can tangibly recognize have been successful, thanks to the collection of
data. Making the information public further substantiates the legitimacy of the programs for
posterity.
CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHT: GOVERNMENT/ PRIVATE SECTOR
FUNDING
In Haiti, non-governmental organizations fill gaps where there is a lack of state intervention
in youth development. For example, HYDE—Haiti Youth and Development— provides a
template for youth engagement through sports, music, and education to motivate youth
and their parents to stay positive whilst facing bleak social and economic circumstances.
This helps compensate for intellectual engagement, social connections, and diversion that
would otherwise be provided by a robust public schooling program.
CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHT: LOCALLY DRIVEN PROJECTS
Trinidad and Tobago annually hosts a National Youth Parliament which fosters social
dialogue and allows young participants to have their views heard by the public and key
decision makers. Additionally, the SIDS Youth Focal Point from Trinidad and Tobago
reaches out to young people and facilitates online meetings and discussions so young
people can provide input and policy recommendations, share opportunities and support
one another.

COUNTRY MONITORING
Regional or country office could provide periodic monitoring to ensure the programs remain
productive. UNDP country offices could then communicate with local governments, perhaps
even utilizing a youth liaison or youth envoy to serve this function. Thus, providing a youth
voice in the government and youth input in the implementation and creation of these
programs.
BRING YOUTH TO THE FOREFRONT
Youth programs and participation efforts are often separated from broader policy goals, and
are frequently distinct silos from the top agendas. Bringing youth to the center of efforts, such
as SDG implementation, could demonstrate the crucial role youth can play on important
items, rather than just at the periphery. 
CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHT: DATA DRIVEN METRICS OF SUCCESS
The Juvenile Court Youth Project (Trinidad and Tobago), a collaborative initiative through
USAID, the Judiciary and UNDP created a specific and separate website which provides
specifics on objectives and targets of the program, achievements to date and outlines the
plan of action moving forward. The website also includes videos of actual participants,
comics used for training materials and quantitative data that exhibits the success and
prevalence of the program.
CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHT: COUNTRY MONITORING
In Haiti, youth initiatives displayed that rather than just focusing on poverty indicators, risk
factors such as school dropout, a sense of hopelessness, and lack of social support should be
considered. Considering these factors will help identify key prevention points for poor
prospects for the future such as inflicting violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and
delinquency.
CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHT: BRING YOUTH TO THE FOREFRONT
To accomplish this, youth representatives should be appointed to create and implement
National Sustainable Development Strategies in the Caribbean in collaboration with
government officials. In Saint Lucia case study research found that projects such as
SocialInnov4change are particularly effective due to their scalability in different
communities. This type of program could be scaled up to the national level throughout
Caribbean states to promote youth engagement through entrepreneurial, SDG focused
projects, which could potentially generate funding given the attention to the
implementation of the 2030 agenda.

WORKS CITED
Aniya Emtage, "Formal Launch of the Saint Lucia GEF SGP Country Office," UNDP in
Barbados & the OECS, February 14, 2013, accessed October 8, 2016, http://
www.bb.undp.org/content/barbados/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/
2013/02/14/formal-launch-of-the-saint-lucia-gef-sgp-country-office.html.
Brathwaite, Brader. An exploration of youth risk in the Caribbean, through the voices of youth.
YouthPolicy.Org. 2009. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016. Web. http://www.youthpolicy.org/
library/documents/an-exploration-of-youth-risk-in-the-carribean-through-the-voices-
of-youth/
Burt, Geoff. “Haiti’s Multi-Dimensional Peacebuilding Challenge.” Security Sector Reform
Resource Centre. 27 Feb. 2016. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016. Web. https://
www.ssrresourcecentre.org/2013/02/27/haitis-multi-dimensional-peacebuilding-
challenge/
CARICOM. "UN Major Group of Children and Youth Selects SIDS Youth Focal Points."
CARICOM Caribbean Community.
Caribbean Human Development Report Multidimensional Progress: Human Resilience beyond
Income 2016. Report. United Nations Development Program. New York: UNDP. 69
Central Intelligence Agency. “Haiti.” The World Factbook. 21 Nov. 2016. Web. Accessed 29 Nov.
2016. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html
Central Intelligence Agency. “Saint Lucia.” The World Factbook. 27 Oct. 2016. Web. Accessed 03
Nov. 2016. http://www.factbook.org/factbook/st.shtml
Chisa Mikami, "Empowering Youth to Drive Change in the Eastern Caribbean | Chisa
Mikami," UNDP in Latin America and the Caribbean, March 17, 2016, accessed
December 07, 2016, http://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/rblac/en/home/
ourperspective/ourperspectivearticles/2016/03/17/empowering-youth-to-drive-
change-in-the-eastern-caribbean-chisa-mikami.html.
Clintock, Nathan C. Agroforestry and Sustainable Resource Conservation in Haiti: a Case Study.”
North Carolina State University. N.d. Accessed 20 Nov 2106. Web. https://
www.ncsu.edu/project/cnrint/Agro/PDFfiles/HaitiCaseStudy041903.pdf
Columbia University Earth Institute. “Identifying Capacity Building Needs for the
Government of Haiti.” 16 May. 2013. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016. Web. http://
blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2013/05/16/ capacity_building_haiti_cantave_jeanlouis/
Country Programme Strategy for GEF SGP Saint Lucia (OP6). December 2015. UNDP, Saint
Lucia.
Donais, Timothy and Geoff Burt. “Vertically Integrated Peace Building and Community
Violence Reduction in Haiti.”
The Centre for International Governance Innovation. 2014. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016. Web.
https://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/no25_0.pdf

Caribbean Youth. The Leaders of Today

Caribbean Youth. The Leaders of Today

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (14)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (10)

Similar to Caribbean Youth. The Leaders of Today

Similar to Caribbean Youth. The Leaders of Today (20)

Caribbean Youth. The Leaders of Today