GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Youth violence in the Caribbean will be discussed here during a four-day meeting that begins today, the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat has announced.

It said the training workshop on Implementation of Prevention Strategies and Actions to address Youth Gangs and Violence is part of the joint programme of work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which focuses on citizen safety and security.

Head of the European Delegation in Guyana and EU Ambassador to Caricom, Robert Kopecky, and the United States Ambassador to Guyana and Caricom, Brent Hardt, as well as the officer in charge of the Human and Social Development Directorate at the Caricom Secretariat, Ms Myrna Bernard, will address the opening of the workshop.

The secretariat said the objective of the workshop is to build the capacity of teachers, social and youth workers in the public sector, leaders of faith and community-based groups and non-governmental organisations working with in and out-of-school youths to design and implement programmes to address youth violence in schools and communities.

The workshop is one of the follow-up activities identified under the Caricom Youth Gangs and Violence: Partnering for Prevention and Social Development project being piloted in Guyana as well as four other Caricom member states.