Jamaican Senator Damion Crawford to address UPP youth forum, while panel will speak to young people’s economic issues

United Progressive Party (UPP) youth are being featured during the
Party’s 12 th  Biennial Convention activities, with a forum set for
Thursday night, April 18.

Senator Damion Crawford, shadow minister of education and
community development for the People’s National Party (PNP) in
Jamaica, will deliver the keynote address.

Youth Connect, as the event has been christened, is an “initiative
designed to inspire, educate and empower the youth, and will be
held at Freedom Hall on lower Newgate Street, under the theme
“The Contributions of Youth Talent to Socio-economic
Development.”
 

A panel of local experts will address the audience on the topic, “How
is Today’s Economy Affecting the Youth? The Disparity between
Economic Growth and their Pockets.”
 
The panelists will be Sowerby Gomes, technical director of the
Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, and two entrepreneurs,
MP Anthony Smith and Tricia Edwards, the owner of TK Tops.
 
MP Smith, the representative for All Saints West, notes that “young
people play a crucial role in the development of our country.”
 
However, he says, if they are facing unemployment and they lack the
required skills and financing to become entrepreneurs, then they
cannot actively participate in building the economy.
 
Therefore, Smith says it is important to invest in the education and
entrepreneurship skills of the youth in order to harness their

potential and ensure they make a meaningful contribution to
national development.
 Lexianne Powell, chairman of Progressive Youth, the juvenile arm of
the Party, agrees.

As the society transitions from one generation to another, she says,
reliance on the youth will be vital, thereby making their national
role extremely critical.
 
“By empowering and supporting young people,” the country can
benefit from their “productivity, creativity and energy,” she says.
 
Youth Connect, the organizers say, is open to the public and will
begin with a networking session at 6 p.m. and the general session at
7.

There will be a number of activities aimed at engaging the youth in
addition to a performance by UCG Entertainment.