Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 15, 2019 (SKNIS): The Department of Youth Empowerment in St. Kitts is set to deepen its partnership with various youth groups across the Federation so as to bring greater harmony to the consistency and quality of programming offered in support of youth development across various sectors.
The department has developed a “Youth Organization: Standards and Guidelines” system that will help groups assess their own statutes and inform the strategic development agenda of the organization as well as that of the government. As such, it facilitates the identification of strengths and gaps among youth organizations, which in turn allows targeted resource allocation to support and empower groups to carry out their respective mandates.
Only groups registered with the Department of Youth Empowerment will benefit from the initiative. The capacity development system will be carried out in four phases: Registration, Development, Intervention, and Assessment Review and Recognition.
Registration involves assessing groups functioning and classifying them based on factors such as the type of organization, zone of operation and focus, as well as compliance with established standards. Development covers capacity building training, network development, programme development, and resource mobilization. Project implementation and monitoring falls under the heading of Intervention, while reporting on project outcomes and recognition of participants’ achievements as well as community support and participation are included in Assessment Review and Recognition.
The roll out of the Youth Organization: Standards and Guidelines takes place in the month of January 2019. All registered youth groups automatically qualify for this initiative. Groups wishing to benefit are welcome to sign up before the end of the month. Additional information is available at the Department of Youth Empowerment located on the top floor of The Cable Building or by telephone 467-1393.
The new initiative is in keeping with the pledge by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Youth, the Honourable Shawn Richards, that the department “will help communities with social intervention programming that would involve and benefit the youth.”
