10/8/1998

The Commonwealth and Youth

The Commonwealth of nations is a voluntary association of 54 independent states. We are bound together by no treaty or written constitution, but by a set of common values defined in a series of declarations. These include the principles of good governance and human rights, the rule of law, and sustainable development. The Commonwealth includes one third of the world's population. I am comforted by the presence of a significant number of Commonwealth Ministers and delegations here today, and welcome the chance, to reinforce their message.

The Commonwealth has a long-standing commitment to its young people. The Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) was established upon the recommendation of Commonwealth Heads of Government 25 years ago in 1973, with a mandate to assist governments to realise the potential of youth. The Commonwealth thus disproved Coco Chanel, who remarked "Youth is something very new: 20 years ago no-one mentioned it

At Commonwealth meetings young people are consulted directly on the policies and programmes of the CYP through the Commonwealth Youth Caucus whose spokesperson, Marcus Akuhata-Brown, was an active participant at last week's LIN Youth Forum and is with us today. Through its network of regional centres, the CYP works. closely with governments as well as international, regional and local organisations, and has built a strong track record in policy development and capacity-building.

The Commonwealth's Youth Policy

In 1995 Commonwealth Youth Ministers identified three interrelated areas as the key to realising the potential of their young women and men: human resource development, national youth policy and youth empowerment.

The Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE)

In May 1998 the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment was approved as a framework for action by Commonwealth Ministers. They did so on the basis of vibrant consultation between Ministers and the Commonwealth Youth Caucus. A short version of no more than 18 pages has been distributed at this meeting. I commend it to you as a simple, practical and self-explanatory guide to the implementation of youth empowerment

As you will see, the Plan of Action sets out ten strategic objectives for governments to consider. These include special measures to promote young peoples' economic activity, increasing their participation in sporting and cultural activities, and promoting positive values in the society they are growing up in. These objectives can be summarised as an investment in the social capital of the future, the indispensable underpinning for a stable, equitable and democratic society.

The Challenge

We should remember with Benjamin Disrali, that "almost everything that is great has been done by youth". Yet it is easy for older generations to underestimate the obstacles many young people face.

The Plan of Action therefore sets out to place young people at its centre, as agents for the stability and cohesion of our countries. Implementation of the Plan of Action will build the potential for good governance and democracy. A strong youth component in civil society, with vibrant democratic youth NGOs giving a voice for young people, will enrich the life of our nations and harness the talents and enterprise of our young for a better future.

My conclusion Mr. Chairman Is as follows,

The Commonwealth's Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment is not merely a statement of good intentions or conventional pieties. It is a menu of practical steps which governments can take, enlisting the support of all the active agents in the contemporary polity. These include the many intergovernmental agencies present here today, whose agendas will be enriched by the active and enthusiastic support of the young people they are seeking to assist; the NGO's working at grass-roots level and especially in the non-formal economy, where so many human assets are today lying unused or neglected; the private sector with its dynamic potential for wealth-creation and promoting employment, especially when they can be persuaded to make the leap of faith in young people through enlightened training policies and the financing of their enterprises; and above all the young people themselves, so often over-looked or discarded in policy formation, but so prolific and constructive as positive contributors when their potential is recognised and when government policy is deliberately expanded to encompass their needs.

It is now a major task of the Commonwealth Secretariat which I represent to ensure that all the programmes mandated by Commonwealth ministers are executed with full consciousness of their impact on young Commonwealth citizens. Our health and education programmes perhaps lend themselves most easily to this vision., But there are also many ways in which our work on the environment, on science and technology, on economic policy and on gender is already being enriched by the deliberate addition of a youth perspective; and our programmes of technical assistance for capacity-building are also being deployed to capture the many new demands in this area.

The Commonwealth is proud to offer this Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment as a basis of co-operation with all members of the world community. We believe it offers insights which others will find useful; and no doubt their experience will enrich and strengthen the relevance of the model we have sketched out. Our young will certainly expect the lessons derived from this week's meeting here to be translated into life-expanding benefits for their place in the world over the coming years.

I thank you.