Minister of Culture Sports and Youth Stephen Lashley with YMCA President Antonio Elcock, board members and other specially invited guests during the YMCA’s Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday night.

CHANGE MINDSET

Fri, 05/27/2016 - 12:00am

Tolerance and control lacking in the youth

A CALL has been made for a collective strategy to reposition the mindset of the nation’s youth towards entrepreneurship and innovation in new and existing sectors.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Stephen Lashley believes that one agency poised to help the youth and has been doing so well over 100 years is the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).

The Minister was at the time addressing the YMCA’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday night where he highlighted challenges facing the nation’s youth.

“I invite you to be bold enough to confront some of the pressing issues affecting the youth of Barbados. We have to grapple with the source of drug abuse, violence in some of our communities and behavioural problems. It is important that we together address these issues from a preventative perspective.”

He explained that his Ministry, through its youth development programmes, seeks to move youth towards progressive pathways. He lamented however that There is a general need across the country for changed behaviour and greater tolerance. “I believe much of the violence we have witnessed is as a result of lack of tolerance and a refusal by some to control themselves. Your organisation, by its very mandate, cannot escape connecting with these issues. You have to assist in devising programmes and strategies to eradicate these challenges.

Youth employment must also be a key focus since the number of unemployed youth in Barbados and across the globe is still too high.

“The opportunity now exists for this organisation to chart a transitional course to achieve the strategic goals which were so eagerly set. Your theme Rebirth and Renewal also inspires the blueprint to achieve that transformation and to execute the task of perpetuating the qualities and skills necessary for the development of our young people.”

Minister Lashley encouraged the Board and members of the YMCA to ensure that the association is equipped to address current and future challenges, bolstered by a team that has the skills, capacity and tools to meet those challenges effectively.

“Importantly, whatever your aspirations are, they can only be achieved if your future needs are more innovative, better integrated, more strategic and more youth focused.” The Minister also suggested that there is a need to develop a far-reaching transparent measurement of the association’s progress. (JH)

CHANGE MINDSET

Barbados Advocate

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