Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 07, 2019 (SKNIS): His Excellency Nestor Mendez, Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), made a clarion call for young persons to showcase their talents and creative skills in pursuit of their career goals.
Assistant Secretary-General Mendez, who is currently in St. Kitts and Nevis for the first time, sat down for an exclusive interview with the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) on Monday, October 07, to discuss the OAS and its contributions in promoting diplomacy and leadership throughout the Americas. He specifically touched on one aspect of the OAS Development Pillar which involves the youth population.
“We are promoting greater engagement with our youth, especially in the area of offering a channel for new ideas for innovation, and for their talent to be put to use to better our societies and our countries,” said His Excellency. “We are promoting, for instance, a competition, which we are developing for the Caribbean region for the youth, and we are doing this hand in hand with one of our OAS affiliated agencies called the ‘Young Americas Business Trust (YABT)’.
His Excellency Mendez noted that the contest is dubbed the ‘Talent and Innovation Competition’.
“Essentially, it is targeted at younger people with a new view with an innovative approach to solving problems that have been around for a long time. We have many good ideas out there, we also have many problems that can be solved, and we need our young minds to give us a fresh look at how we can address those problems,” he added.
Persons interested in participating can register their business ideas online at https://ticamericas.net/en/. the registration deadline is December 31, 2019. Evaluations are scheduled for January-February 2020, while announcement of finalists is slated for March 01, 2020. The finals take place in June 2020.
In speaking to the nation’s youth, His Excellency Mendez encouraged them to be open-minded, especially if they wish to pursue a career path in diplomacy.
“Don’t close your mind to the possibilities that lie in the immediate neighbourhood for yourself, for your future, and your country. If you are a young professional or a student, if you want to get into diplomacy, you need to be at least bilingual, preferably, you need to speak three languages if possible, but at least bilingual,” he said. “Expose yourself, your mind and your education to the cultures nearby…”
While in St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellency will hold several important meetings and official engagements, including visits to the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and the Nevis Sixth Form.
