On International Youth Day, young people across the Caribbean got to tell CARICOM what the regional movement means to them, not with policy papers or formal speeches, but through their own stories, poems and lyrics.
The result is What CARICOM Means to YOUth, a regional youth anthology led by the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme. It was officially launched at the Hunter J. François Library at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) on Wednesday, August 12.
The launch brought together government officials, Saint Lucia’s CARICOM Youth Ambassadors, students, and other partners to celebrate a publication built around a simple but important question: “What does CARICOM mean to you?”
Deputy CARICOM Youth Ambassador of Saint Lucia, Naeem Philbert, said choosing creative expression was intentional. It gave young people across the region a chance to speak for themselves and explore CARICOM in ways that felt natural to them.
“We invited young people across the Caribbean community to respond creatively to the idea of CARICOM through stories, poetry, song lyrics and spoken word,” Philbert said.
“We deliberately chose creative expression because we understood that there are things young people can communicate through a poem that they may never see in a policy paper. Experiences that can be captured in a story more powerfully than in a formal statement and aspirations that can find the fullest expression through music and art.”
That idea was also at the heart of remarks from Rohan Lubon, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, who said the anthology should be seen as more than just another publication.
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“We are opening a window into the minds, dreams, hopes, concerns and aspirations of our young people,” Lubon said. “We are giving space to their voices and acknowledging that when young people are given the opportunity to express themselves, they have much to say and much to contribute to the future of our Caribbean,” he stated.
Through the anthology, contributors explored regional identity, culture, unity, opportunity, and their hopes for the future of the Caribbean Community. Their work also gives us a glimpse of how the younger generation understands CARICOM and its role in their lives.
But for Saint Lucia’s CARICOM Youth Ambassador Shelley Desir, publishing these voices should not be the end of the journey.
“Don’t let these stories end here. Read the book, talk about the stories, share them, recommend them and then, when you meet one of our young authors, ask them ‘what are you writing next’ because we want to see more. More stories, more books and hopefully more launches.”
