Press Releases

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Thirteenth Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council For Finance and Planning (COFAP) will be convened in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday January 29, 2009 with the implications of the global financial crisis on the Region high on the agenda.

At his press briefing at the end of 2008, CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington had noted that the global financial crisis was “a very serious one” and that the Region was not going to escape its impact.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington has supported the call for all CARICOM Member States to fully adopt the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final Court of Appeal.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Bureau of the Caribbean Community’s Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) has issued a statement on developments in Gaza.

Following is the text of the statement_

As Prime Minister of Belize I have, on January 1, 2009, assumed the Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community for the next six months. I count myself lucky that this has happened at this time, allowing me the opportunity to send out warmest New Year greetings to the entire CARICOM family. It is also of significance that I do this from my own country in Central America. That particular characteristic of geography is a reminder of the reach and scope of our Community, the fact that we include portions of continents and sub continents, that we are Latin American as well as Caribbean.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Twenty-six year old Barbadian Donna Greene, is the new Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador (CYA) programme. Making the announcement on Thursday, 13 December, 2007) at the closing of the CYA Strategic Evaluation and Planning workshop, Dr Heather Johnson Deputy Programme Manager, Community and Youth Development said, “as youth ambassador for the past two years, Donna is passionate about youth empowerment and is committed to the ideals and values of the programme.

Salutations

The Mandate

The CARICOM Commission on Youth Development arose out of a mandate from the 27th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in St. Kitts and Nevis in July 2006. The Mandate is to “provide a full scale analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to make recommendations on how to improve their well-being and empowerment.”

CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Co-chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Commission on Youth Development, (CCYD) Professor Barry Chevannes has described preliminary research findings on the situation of Caribbean youth as “rich and interesting yet disturbing.”

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) At its third meeting held in Haiti on 8-10 December, the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) noted the findings of qualitative research conducted among youth in several critical areas including youth governance structures.

An analysis of those findings revealed that the Community has put effective good governance structures in place for youth participation in decision-making processes at both the national and regional levels and that the structures allowed for capacity building in leadership.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) On World AIDS Day the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Dr Michel Sidibe as the next Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Congratulating Dr Sidibe on his appointment, outgoing Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot said, "The leadership of UNAIDS is in very capable hands. UNAIDS has a vital role to play in sustaining the progress made in the global response on AIDS."

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington along with staff members of his office got into the Christmas spirit on December 12, 2008 with the sharing of gifts at the Red Cross Convalescent Home for Children, Georgetown, Guyana.