In a significant move to empower youth leaders, the Ministry of Youth Development and Sport (MYDS) has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Youth Resilience, Inclusion and Empowerment (Y-RIE) programme.
This partnership launches the Youth Work Programme for Effective Youth Work Practice, which is aimed at enhancing the skills of youth workers. The initiative is a strategic endeavour between the USAID Y-RIE programme and the Ministry to confront the challenges Saint Lucia’s youth face.
It forms part of a comprehensive upskilling initiative by Y-RIE, including the rollout of a competency-based curriculum for the Level II Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) standard for Youth Development Work. This collaborative partnership will support professional development, strategic planning, and effective community engagement within the Ministry and will boost youth resilience against social challenges.
The overarching goal, besides empowering youth workers with improved capacity, is to foster increased partnerships for community crime and violence prevention. This responds to an urgent need for technical support identified by the Ministry which aligns with its 2021- 2026 Strategic Plan and Saint Lucia’s National Youth Policy Action Plan.
Following preparatory actions, the capacity building phase will begin in March, with a three-day training for key Ministry staff. Between May and December, Y-RIE will deliver a high-impact seven-month training for approximately 25 MYDS youth workers, which will culminate with a graduation ceremony.
This activity builds on the successful collaboration between Y-RIE and MYDS in 2023. In March 2023, the MYDS and Y-RIE trained over 35 participants, including MYDS Youth Workers to deliver training sessions on positive youth development (PYD) and trauma-informed care (TIC).
In April 2023, Y-RIE and the Ministry hosted Youth Easter Connect! Easter Camps- six-day non-residential camps which delivered conflict resolution and self-awareness sessions to 117 young people in Anse La Raye, Vieux Fort, and Gros Islet. Y-RIE also worked closely with the MYDS in July to co-design and conduct an Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA) for the Youth Division.
In November, both partners signed a collaborative agreement for youth violence prevention (YVP) in select communities. The agreement expressed the partners’ commitment to achieving PYD outcomes, building youth agency and resilience, and creating safer communities.
The USAID Y-RIE programme was formally launched in Saint Lucia in February 2023. Y-RIE is working with government and non-government partners to strengthen social services that serve youth and their families, improve learning outcomes for youth, improve youth preparedness for the world-of-work, and strengthen the resilience of families and communities.