CDB committed to region’s youth

THE Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is committed to further supporting initiatives which encourage innovation and promote youth inclusion.

Looking at the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), CDB was delighted to be a partner in Digital Jam, and pledged its commitment to an effort such as Digital Jam 3.0 Caribbean Edition.

The winning MediRevu Team comprising Shannon Clarke,
Samora Reid and Lybron Sobers are working to provide a
regional and international solution to monitoring
non-communicable diseases and helping doctors and
patients better manage these costly diseases.

Portfolio Manager in the Private Sector, CDB, Peter Blackman, said: “We at the CDB are keenly aware of the central role that technology can play in transforming our regional economies and recognise that the region’s youth must take centre stage in this quest.”

Cognisant of the need to combat the issue of high youth unemployment throughout the Caribbean, he said: “Our region is faced with some very daunting challenges, with rising unemployment, particularly among the youth, being one of the biggest concerns.”

Presented with their certificates and MacBook Air laptops for
winning in the ‘Pioneers of the Caribbean’ Category of the
Digital Jam 3.0 Regional Apps Competition, held on
March 1 and 2, 2014, by Project Officer in the Social
Development Sustainable Development Department of the
World Bank, Nicola Magri (left), and Portfolio Manager in the
Private Sector Development Unit of the Caribbean Development
Bank, Peter Blackman (second from right), were Samora Reid,
Lybron Sobers and Shannon Clarke (centre L-R).

Using statistics, he illustrated the situation, saying, “In 2012, 14.3 per cent of the nearly 75 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 that were unemployed worldwide lived in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

And he posited, “As a result, a disturbingly high number of young people in our region have become victims of social exclusion and marginalisation.”

But he hastened to remind, “Many young people are also making significant contributions to the development of their communities and societies.”

Therefore, he insisted, “We are being challenged to harness the energies of our youth and to engage them productively in the region development. Deliberate and strategic action to curb youth unemployment is a must if we are to significantly improve our medium to long-term development prospects.” (KG)