GOVERNMENT WILL SOON have a draft National Youth Policy which will be available for scrutiny by young people across Barbados.“We have started the work. We have done a lot of surveys and research. It is a good start off point by which we can then engage with young people and say, let us now put the final shape to this national youth policy.“That will happen by means of the National Youth Forum. As an adjunct to that, this website will be used to also get feedback. Once the draft National Youth Policy is completed and ready for circulation and discussion, it will be posted on the web site for comment and scrutiny,” said Minister of Youth, Stephen Lashley.He was speaking on Thursday at the launch of the National Youth Forum website in the main conference room of the Ministry of Education.Lashley said the website would be a focal point of communication, adding that they had already seen its tremendous value. “We have a suggestion form to facilitate input from young people and we have blogs to stimulate discussion on the various topics. We also have subscription to email alerts and newsletters, video and pictorial galleries and links to other social network sites of the National Youth Forum and there is also facebook.“So far, more than 500 fans or friends of the Forum have gone online and they have actually indicated that ‘we want to be a part of this National Youth Forum and we are ready to be volunteers’, which is phenomenal, especially since we are three weeks away from the launch of the forum . . . We expect that number to grow significantly as we give more information,” he said.Lashley said arrangements were in place to ensure the ongoing maintenance of the site. He also said that it allowed him to interact with some young people online, adding the names of those persons and companies that were partnering with his ministry on this initiative would be posted on the website and they would later receive certificates of participation.The National Youth Forum will be launched June 20, at Sheraton Mall, starting at 6 p.m. (SA/BGIS)
