Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development and Youth Affairs, Rodney Rey, has praised the organisers of the Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES) Conference which was held in Anguilla last week.

Pastor Elliott Harrigan (left) and other facilitators

The conference was the brainchild of Anguillian Pastor, Elliot Harrigan, and was conducted in conjunction with ManFocus, a faith-based ministry in Philadelphia where he is based. The facilitators who assisted him were his daughter Nicole Harrigan-Nash, Terry Allen Jones, Dr. Randloph Walters and Dr Vincent Galloway, who accompanied him to Anguilla.

Governor, Attorney General and others

The conference, which included a youth forum and the formation of a Youth Crime Watch for Anguilla, was locally organised by a Planning Committee chaired by Donna Banks with Gina Brooks-Hodge as Secretary. The conference was supported by the Anguilla Government, the Education Department and some members of the corporate community. It was aimed at challenging and empowering students at the Comprehensive School to lead a “crime and violence free” life.

Speaking at the opening of the conference session for persons in leadership positions, Mr. Rey said youth development was everybody’s business and required a partnership among Government agencies, the school, church, community groups, the family, media and young people themselves.

A section of the other attendees

“This conference is both timely and important because it puts the spotlight on the youth themselves,” he said. “The aim of the conference, as stated in the printed material ‘is to empower Anguilla’s youth to lead, make better choices and to resist violence.”

Given that one-third of the population of Anguilla was classified as youth, Rey said the achievement of that aim would ensure a future of continued good governance, prosperity, peace, social justice and freedom for all.

PS Rodney Rey

He reported that in response to the challenge of youth development in the new socio-economic environment, the Ministry of Social Development had been taking a more proactive approach over the years.

“The new approach is driven by the realisation that our recent economic development has created a modern society without the concomitant social development policies, programmes, institutions and common understanding of our social values,” Rey continued. “In our education sector, our response has been centred on the implementation of programmes in seven policy areas. Two of these, curriculum development and pastoral care are more pertinent to the context today.” He also spoke about Government’s establishment of a Sports and Culture Division to place more emphasis on institutional strengthening and human development.

The Permanent Secretary stated that despite all that had been done, youth development remained complex and challenging. He pointed out however that the majority of the island’s young people were responding positively to the process of socialisation and only a small minority was demanding attention. He advised leaders in Anguilla that they were to be concerned about those at risk and that they should not become complacent as one violence-prone young person was too many in a population of 12,000.

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