Antigua and Barbuda National Youth Policy 2021.

This National Youth Policy provides guidance for the approaches which key stakeholders should adopt to enable youth development. The timeframe of the policy is 10 years. This Policy aims to empower young people as resilient drivers of change by amplifying their voices, fostering engagement in national development, and promoting intellectual and emotional growth. It seeks to create inclusive environments that nurture motivation, self-awareness, and self-efficacy for productive lives. This Policy considers individuals aged 12 to 35 as falling within the youth category.
The goals of the National Youth Policy are, as follows: (i) an empowered youth population which is capable of fully participating at all levels of decision making; (ii) patriotic youth who demonstrate love for country and a strong sense of national pride; (iii) morally-centered young people who internalize core values that permeate all aspects of their lives; (iv) strategic collaborations with national, regional, and international stakeholders in youth empowerment initiatives; (v) environmentally conscious young people who use and manage the natural resources in a sustainable manner; (vi) violence-free youth who exhibit intellectual and emotional intelligence and fight against all forms of inequalities that hinder youth development; (vii) a well-trained, healthy, and engaged workforce that realizes organizational and national goals.
The Policy lays down actions seeks to achieve 11 strategic objectives: (1) to strengthen programs that build cultural, entrepreneurial, and basic literacy; (2) to promote STEAM subjects: science, technology, engineering, the arts, mathematics; (3) to develop social and economic opportunities for youth employment; (4) to revive the spirit of volunteerism and engage youth volunteers; (5) to prioritize mental health and nutritious lifestyles among youth; (6) to raise awareness on nature and climate change; (7) to instill core values and encourage spiritual development; (8) to encourage responsible use of the media among youth; (9) to promote gender equity and equality; (10) to strengthen youth organizations and alliances with other departments; and (11) to bolster meaningful political participation.
The Policy sets out 9 thematic focus areas. Thematic Focus IV is on environmental sustainability, and emphasizes the role of young people in protecting the environment and using the natural resources in a sustainable manner. The Policy supports all blue and green climate-friendly initiatives and advocates for increased youth participation and proactive efforts to accelerate progress on the climate change agenda. The strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation include: encouraging young people to join environmental groups or organizations; increasing climate change awareness among youth via social media; integrating climate change adaptation into the school curricula; mainstreaming climate change education into national policies and development plans; offering more climate change scholarships and innovation grants to youth; involving youth in the planning and implementing stages of environmental programs; providing arable land for more youth to engage in agricultural activities; promoting more tree-planting activities; investing in schools’ agricultural programs; promoting the 3 Rs among youth: reduce, reuse and recycle; and creating an enabling environment that fortifies youth engagement in climate adaptation.