Think Creative - Issue 5

Dispatches

updates from around our world

Guyanese secondary school students were invited to attend the Summit.

race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, and more. To reduce violence, the Agenda states it is imperative to promote programs that are inclu- sive and increase marginalized groups’ dignity, security and opportunity. The AAA calls for resources to support equita- ble educational and economic opportunities. Specifically, the document urges governments to support youth entrepreneurship and em- ployment and address inequality in education with teacher training, counseling, vocational training, social-emotional development curric- ula, and programs to support parents. Systems that foster bias and marginalization need to be dismantled so that every young person has the opportunity to play a role in decision-making. Promote reintegration The third pillar of the Advocacy and Action Agenda centers on rehabilitation and reinte- gration of youth who have come into conflict with the law. For the AAA’s authors, this means justice systems across the region must not treat youth offenders in the same manner as adults and should be better informed about youth devel- opment. Laws and policies must be tailored more toward meeting the unique needs of young people beginning at the time of arrest, not release, and providing youth with the requisite support needed to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders. Reintegration of perpetrators and restorative justice, which ultimately aims to rehabilitate criminal offenders through reconciliation work, are essential for communities to heal from the effects of crime and violence, the Agenda states. “If the criminal justice system aided those whom it imprisoned and provided themwith the necessary tools to be appropriately reinte- grated, we would be better off as a Caribbean society,” Questelles said. Young people across the Caribbean face many challenges. But too often, the AAA asserts, they are seen only for those challenges, and not as part of the solution. As Questelles’s fellow LYNCS member Vishal Hulbert Joseph stated: “It’s about getting down and dirty. It’s about going back to your communities and showing that you have a plan of action. [It’s about] showing how you will promote this Agenda within your community to affect the real positive change.” n

Above from left: LYNCS Co-Chairs Asha-Gaye Cowell and Kurba-Marie Questelles; CFYR Chief of Party Debra Wahlberg; Dr. the Hon. George Norton, Guyana’s Minister of Social Cohesion; Amb. Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary-General; Muriel Mafico, UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Deputy Representative; and Deidre Clarendon, Caribbean Development Bank’s Social Sector Division Chief

Creative and multinational mobile telecommuni- cations company MTN will collaborate to pilot and scale digital solutions to development challenges. A memorandum of understanding combines Creative’s expertise in education, economic growth, peacebuilding and digital development with MTN’s experience in digital innovation and its mobile network in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East. “This partnership brings together passion, experi- ence, ingenuity and the ability to scale technolo- gies that can respond to development challenges today and in the future, whether in agriculture, education or elections,” says Leland Kruvant, Presi- dent and CEO of Creative. Leading the joint venture is the Creative Devel- opment Lab—a unit that specializes in big data, geographic information systems, media, education technology and financial technology—and MTN’s Digital Innovation team, with experience in user base, product development, innovation and investment, among other areas. The two companies say they will work together on a range of projects, including data analysis, mobile money, tech start-up acceleration, hackathons, technology-based education solutions and reach- ing underserved populations. “Aid and the private sector need to work hand- in-hand to leverage each other’s strengths since development is a shared human and enterprise goal,” says Ayan Kishore, Director of the Creative Development Lab. “Working with an African-born powerhouse that is committed to the continent’s growth and has the platform to do so is a tremen- dous opportunity for development. It is exciting to see the alignment of the innovation agendas of our teams.” n / / Creative Development Lab Creative and MTN partner for digital development solutions

Participants from more than 20 Caribbean countries attended the Summit, where youth were invited to give feedback on the

Summit co- host Emprezz Golding

addresses the crowd.

Advocacy and Action Agenda.

Summit co-host and LYNCS member Vishal Hulbert Joseph and the Hon. Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Youth and Sports for Trinidad and Tobago, pose for a photo.

The Summit featured performances by local theater and dance groups.

Caribbean youth create blueprint for violence prevention

Guyana // Community, Family and Youth Resilience program

Prevent and reduce crime The youth behind the Action and Advocacy Agenda call on policymakers and donors to support programs that are comprehensive, cul- turally responsive, and inclusive and that are designed at the local level with youth engage- ment throughout the process. Most victims and perpetrators of crime in the Caribbean are males ages 15 to 30, according to an Inter-American Development Bank report from 2017. The Advocacy and Action Agenda highlights the importance of addressing how toxic masculinity fuels crime, gender-based violence, bullying and inter-family violence. Another common theme in the Agenda is the

To reduce violence across the Caribbean and foster a culture of peace, young people must be meaningfully engaged as leaders, say youth from across the region in an agenda for advoca- cy and action. The Caribbean Youth Advocacy and Action Agenda on Violence Prevention (AAA) was de- veloped by 20 youth from the region, with the input of hundreds more. The Agenda lays out a plan for preventing violence and highlights sev- eral successful programs that serve as models. It was rolled out at the Caribbean Summit on Youth Violence Prevention. “This Action and Advocacy Agenda represents us as young people throughout the Caribbean region. We must all work together to build a

culture of peace and prosperity within our Caribbean communities,” said Kurba-Marie Questelles, Co-Chair of the Learning for Youth Networking and Change Sessions (LYNCS), a regional learning network that led the AAA. LYNCS was supported by the USAID’s Com- munity, Family and Youth Resilience program and the regional organization CARICOM. The AAA builds upon CARICOM’s Social Devel- opment and Crime Prevention Action Plan, which has been accepted as the overarching regional framework to guide violence preven- tion and reduction. The following are the three major takeaways from the youth-driven agenda.

need to end corporal punishment, both in the home and at school, to build more peaceful communities and stop cycles of violence re- peated by different generations. The document encourages scaling up and sup- porting evidence-informed programs built on positive youth development: an approach and philosophy that empowers youth to reach their potential with support from families, commu- nities and governments. Foster social inclusion In the Caribbean and around the world, large numbers of youth are socially excluded and discriminated against on the basis of their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation,

Photos by Alqmedia

Photo by Alqmedia , Victor Karanja (top right)

10 | Think Creative | Spring 2019

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