BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced that it will be improving how it supports youth development in its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).

According t a release from the CDB today, it has approved US$287,000 for the development of a CDB Youth Policy and Operational Strategy (YPOS) — a consultative process that will include engagement with stakeholders, especially youth, in its 19 BMCs, and an assessment of the key development challenges and opportunities in youth development.

Director of Projects at CDB, Daniel Best noted that “approximately 60 per cent of the Caribbean’s citizens are under 30-years-old; 20 per cent of whom are between 15 and 29 years old. Yet, youth are disproportionately represented among the poor and vulnerable, and youth unemployment rates are as high as 47 per cent across the Caribbean.”

“The YPOS will equip CDB and its BMCs with enhanced knowledge to support evidence-based decision-making for youth development, and improve the Bank’s capacity to contribute to gender-responsive and socially inclusive youth development in its BMCs,” Best added.

The Bank said in order to better support youth development it will aim to achieve key results through this project by identifying the specific needs of the vulnerable youth groups who are likely to be socially and economically excluded; examining the role youth play in society and the contributions they make/or can make to development with emphasis on youth leadership, social and economic transformation and innovation as well as determining a feasible set of youth-focused development interventions, which it can support.

CDB added that the YPOS will be designed to align with the Sustainable Development Goals, the 2014 Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway, the CARICOM Strategic Plan (2015-2019) and the Caribbean Youth and Development Action Plan (2012-2017).