Two youth-focused projects in Saint Lucia have officially received funding under UNESCO’s Participation Programme for the 2024/25 biennium.
A total of US$38 500 has been awarded to support the initiatives aimed at youth development.
The cheques were presented on Monday to the representatives of the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and their partners, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSPF), by Shawn Edward, Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training and Chairperson of the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO.
The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports received US$20 000 for its project, Professionalisation of Youth Work in Saint Lucia (Youth Work Programme for Effective Youth Work Practice). This initiative aims to deliver a competency-based curriculum to produce a cadre of skilled youth development workers who are equipped to deliver professional youth development services to the youth in Saint Lucia.
About this project, a statement from the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO said: “Through the professionalisation of youth work, it is anticipated that the participants will receive better support systems to promote their mental health; increase employment opportunities through education and entrepreneurship; improve the rights-based approach to youth development and transition into productive adults.”
The second project receiving funding was IICA’s Brown Gold: Operationalising a social entrepreneurship model for upskilling and employing youth vulnerable to the effects of poverty in the community of Bruceville, Saint Lucia.
This initiative, which received US$18 500, targets youth in the southern part of the island and seeks to demonstrate how sustainable agricultural systems can be a solution to important social challenges such as poverty alleviation and access to decent work in a practically relevant local scenario.
In collaboration with the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, the project will be centred around waste utilisation, compost production, and backyard gardening, supporting a community farm as part of a strategy to deter youth from engaging in crime.
The Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO has pledged its commitment to supporting these projects to ensure their successful implementation.
Saint Lucia has benefitted tremendously from the support provided under the UNESCO Participation Programme, one of the organisation’s flagship initiatives. For the current biennium, a total of four projects have been approved for funding under the programme in the fields of culture, education, and human and social sciences, specifically youth development.
