KINGSTON, Jamaica – A youth Thematic Working Group (TWG) has been launched to advance the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

The TWG will serve as a consultative mechanism for results-based monitoring and evaluation.

Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams, said the initiative was born out of a partnership with the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

“Our focus is primarily directed at advancing the youth development priorities of national outcome #1, which says a healthy and stable population. It aligns with the broader objectives of the National Youth Policy, which promotes a vision of empowered young people who are able to make informed choices, lead meaningful, enjoyable and prosperous lives and contribute to the sustainable development of Jamaica,” she said.

Williams was delivering remarks at Tuesday’s launch held at AC Hotel by Marriott in Kingston, under the theme ‘Reshaping our Future, Today’.

She noted that the membership of the youth TWP is diverse, with representation from the diaspora and collaboration with regional and international partners such as Caricom, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations.

“Through open dialogue and active engagement, we aim to identify and prioritise the challenges and opportunities that will shape our strategies moving forward. Your voices matter and today we commit to listening, learning and acting on your behalf,” Williams stated.

PIOJ Director General, Dr Wayne Henry, who delivered remarks via video, said the establishment of the youth TWG directly fulfils the PIOJ’s mandate of initiating and coordinating the development of policies, plans and programmes for the sustainable development of Jamaica.

He advised that Policy Analyst in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Lee-Ann Walker, and Co-Chair of the National Youth Advisory Council, Orville Levy, have been named youth TWG chair and co-chair, respectively.

“This youth-led and youth-centred TWG will spotlight issues affecting our youth and identify and promote the necessary steps to empower our youth to act as agents of change,” Dr Henry said.

He added that the formation of the body demonstrates an intergenerational approach to development by strengthening youth engagement in policy creation and advocacy on youth issues.

“Under this TWG, efforts will be pooled towards the achievement of the national goals and outcomes of Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan and align with the goals and targets of regional and global development frameworks, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the wider post-2015 Development Agenda,” Dr Henry outlined.

Vision 2030 Jamaica is the country’s first long-term strategic development plan and covers the 21-year period 2009 to 2030.

It embodies the plans and processes for the realisation of a collective vision, encapsulated in the statement “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”.

Thematic Working Groups (TWG) are the main mechanism by which stakeholders (drawn from the public and private sectors, civil society, academia and development partners) actively participate in, and lend their expertise, knowledge and resources to promote the successful implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

-JIS