Minister of State within the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Ageing and Disabilities, the Honourable Isalean Phillip, joined Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew in condemning the recent acts of crime and violence permeating across St. Kitts and Nevis.
In calling for an end to these senseless and traumatic acts, Minister Phillip said that the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, over the last two years, has been working hard to carefully foster an environment that promotes the positive engagement of the nation’s youth in wholesome activities and programmes.
“Earlier this year, we would have hosted a National Youth Congress and the focus for that congress, which brought young people from both primary schools and secondary schools together, was to look at violence and crime as a public health issue. So we would have introduced that concept to the young people and get their thoughts and views on that because we recognise that if we are seeking a generational shift in relation to how we think about violence and how it is manifesting in our societies, we really need to ensure that our young people are very much aware because we are seeing it pop up a lot more in our primary and high schools,” said Minister Phillip during the Sitting of the National Assembly on Friday, August 02, 2024.
The honourable senator commended the officers within the Department of Community Development for the work being done to promote more community-based activities, particularly those involving the youth.
She said, “We are really trying to re-cultivate, reignite and rebuild cultures of care, compassion and cultures ultimately of non-violence and healthy conflict resolution by hosting and promoting more community-based and family-based events and activities.”
Furthermore, Senator Phillip said that the Department of Youth Empowerment adds another layer to this wholesome approach by focusing on positive engagements with young people through different activities and “in ways where we can build more teamwork and more camaraderie among our young people.”
Minister Phillip said the work being done within the ministries under her purview complements the different social intervention programmes initiated by the Ministry of National Security to positively engage the nation’s youth. This, she says, underscores the all-encompassing approach by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to address crime and other anti-social behaviours.
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