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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 2ND AUGUST, 2015
“What kind of world do youwant tomake?”
This was
one of the questions that the United Nations’ Secretary
General, His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon called on the
youth of the Caribbean to ponder in his first address at
The University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus.
His Excellency was speaking at a historic
symposium that was held to facilitate direct interaction
and communication between the Secretary General
and the united youth voice of the Caribbean. Hosted
under the theme
Caribbean Youth Speak: The World
We Want Post-2015,
topics of major importance such
as youth unemployment, climate change, violence
and gender inequality were addressed. Students from
The UWI’s other campuses participated via video
conferencing and joined the dialogue by posing
questions of their own to the Secretary General.
With one fifth of the Caribbean population
between the ages of 15 and 24 and with half of the
global population under the age of 25, His Excellency
BanKi-Moon described the world that we live in as one
that is very young. In an appeal to those in attendance
His Excellency emphasized the need for immediate
action towards change by saying, “We are at a tipping
point, depending on where we go- we may be okay
or we may have to regret the tragedies that occur for
your generation.”
Youth unemployment was amajor topic of concern
and students posed questions to the Secretary General
about the issue in the local, regional and international
contexts. His Excellency offered practical solutions and
approaches that governments across the Caribbean
region can adopt as a means of tackling the growing
problem. Among his recommendations was the call
for increased partnerships between governments
and the private sector business communities and the
investment in youth skills development. When asked
directly about what the United Nations can and has
been doing to help combat the issue, two programmes
were highlighted: the UN Young Professionals
Programme and the youth arm of the UN Volunteers
programme, both of which offer opportunities for
young people across the globe.
The Secretary General painted the picture of a
potentially grim future should climate change continue
to advance at its current rate. He explained that while
many persons see a two millimeter per year rise in sea
levels as negligible, when projected into the future this
continued rise could lead to the disappearance of low
lying islands and shoreline cities. When questioned
further about what is being done to safeguard the
Caribbean islands the Secretary General empathized
that while these countries have not heavily contributed
to the growing problem they are among the most
heavily impacted. He stressed the importance of a
legally binding global climate agreement that the UN
will be seeking to materialize at the World Climate
Summit in Paris, December 2015.
The Secretary General encouraged the youth of
the Caribbean to pursue their passions but to do so
with compassion. He reminded them that they are
not just citizens of Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago,
but that they also belong to a wider global community
and they should continue to be mindful of not only
those in their immediate communities but also those
in poorer countries that are lesser developed than their
own. He encouraged them to dream big but in doing
so always keep their feet firmly planted on the ground.
His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon called on the youth of
the Caribbean to continue to raise their voices in the
fight for a better today and an even brighter tomorrow.
“Be a Global Citizen with a Global Vision”
Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the UN initiates a dialogue with regional youth
B y S h e r e e n A l i
Shereen Ali is a projects & events Officer in The University’s Marketing and Communications office on the St Augustine Campus.
His Excellency emphasized the need for immediate action towards change by saying,
“We are at a tipping point, depending on where we go- we may be okay or we may have to
regret the tragedies that occur for your generation.”
OUR CAMPUS
Professor Andy Knights, Director of the Institute of International Relations (IIR)
addressed the gathering
VC Beckles attentively listened to the UN Secretary General as he took questions
from students in the audience
