Date Posted: November 26, 2008.

Chief Minister, Hon. Osbourne Fleming and  Minister of Social Development, Hon. Evans McNeil Rogers in Straight Up Conversation Sessions.

 The Valley, Anguilla - Under the theme, “We going right up in there! Putting our stamp on the decision making process;” forty plus young people from a wide cross section of Anguilla, convened at the Paradise Cove Resort on the 25 November, 2008 as part of the Second Annual National Conference on Youth and Development NCYD-2008. The conference which was produced by the Ministry of Social Development- Department of Youth and Culture, the Anguilla National Youth Council and the National Youth Ambassador Corps saw young people interrogate the Draft Labour and Immigration Policy, the issue of land availability and develop strategies to manage the impact of the global financial crisis.

The conference saw a blend of excellent presentations and intense discussion as delegates sought to arrive at consensus points to present to government on the various issues.

Presentations were made by Rochelle Rogers (Youth Position on the Draft Labour and Immigration Policy), Mr. Foster Rogers (Government Position on Labour and Immigration), Ms. Raquel Hazell and Ms. Michelle Romney from the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School Environmental and Conservation Club (Youth Position on Land Availability), Mr. Douglas Sterling (Government Position on Land Availability) and Mr. Perin Bradley (Youth Expert on Managing the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis).

The culmination of the conference was the session dubbed ‘Straight Up Conversations’, which provided young people the opportunity to engage the Hon. Chief Minister and the Hon Minister of Social Development in discussions centered around the issues tabled at the conference. The final report of the conference including recommendations is expected to be published in mid December.

Compiling the Land Availability Recommendations

The National Conference on Youth and Development is a forum designed to incorporate a youth perspective into the decision making process. It does this by bringing together young people of varying interests and backgrounds to deliberate and provide feedback to public and private sector agencies on policy, legislation, programmes and in general, issues of interest to national development.

Kareem Bradley Co Chair of the Conference Centre Converse with Facilitators Sherise Brooks Left and Quincy Gumbs Jr. Right

Through the conference, young people are provided with the opportunity to contribute to the decision making process, increase their awareness of national development issues and develop leadership and facilitation skills; while government is provided with a mechanism for public consultation.