THE Government of Saint Lucia, through the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports is currently conducting a review of its National Youth Policy which was enacted in 2003.
According to a government statement, the current policy requires updating in order to take into account changes in the socio-economic landscape of the country and recent developments at the international level. The aim of the project is to develop a new policy that is evidence based and is fit for purpose for Saint Lucia in 2015 and beyond.
Youth Policy expert Dwynette D. Eversley, a development specialist is the consultant working on the project . She started her professional career with the Trinidad and Tobago Government in 1983, and built up a record in administration, research and development, which took her to the post of Acting Director of the Maritime Services Division (Maritime Directorate).
Eversley has over 20 years of experience in research and policy development and has worked with several countries, most recently the Government of the Virgin Islands to formulate national youth policies. She is a practicing facilitator and lead resource in strategic planning and continues to lead strategic planning workshops for agencies in the Caribbean Region.
She has been trained as a trainer and has designed several customized capacity building interventions for public officials and civil society. Her work for the past 11 years has been in youth development as Caribbean Programme Manager and Acting Regional Director for the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP), supporting governments and civil society agencies to enhance the social, economic and political participation and well being of young women and men between the ages of 15 to 29.
Eversley’s work has given her familiarity and access to status of young people, and the policies and programming in all Commonwealth Caribbean member states and associated territories that target young people and their development.
She is passionate about a more inclusive and participatory agenda for young people in decision-making and development and was instrumental in sustaining technical and financial support for the establishment of the Caribbean Regional Youth Council in December 2013, which is now headquartered in Saint Lucia.
“ Having worked to complete the Commonwealth’s youth policy guide, which is the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment and contributed to the development of the CARICOM Youth Development Action Plan (CYDAP), I am very careful that the new policy for Saint Lucia must reference regional and global good practice and standards and be evidence-based, informed by the real situation of youth in St Lucia as a non-homogenous construct, “ she said.
Eversleyadded : “ I see the work ahead as very important in having young people define their own success model for youth and their development. I am also of the view the policy implies a commitment of the Ministry to communicate a clear vision on implementation, and targets to be achieved for young people, so that young people themselves know and understood what opportunities and access are available, and appreciate how they fit in and can contribute as part of the national development agenda. “
Ms.Eversley holds a Master of Science in Public Maritime Administration from the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Social Sciences from the University of the West Indies, and a Diploma in Oceans Law and Policy from the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy.