Young people are not in crisis, says Barbados youth minister

By Sharon Austin

"I don't believe that there is a crisis among our young people. There are challenges and we should see these challenges as opportunities."

This was the view of Barbados Youth Minister, Stephen Lashley, as he delivered remarks Friday at the opening ceremony of the Barbados Workers' Union Youth Arm (BWUYA) Annual Youth Congress.

While suggesting that the BWUYA was testimony of "young people still being involved in industrious activity which is contributing to the strategic development of Barbados," Lashley lamented that unfortunately, some young people were not playing a positive role in society.

"As young people of the union, you are uniquely positioned to influence change in the organisation by bringing fresh perspectives, innovative ideas and a creative outlook to operations.

Youth are a dynamic force in this nation, with potential to propel individual organisations forward to meet the challenges of survival in this global system...

"We do have young people in Barbados who continue to make excuses for their current situation and I want to invite them to remove that dependency from their minds and to take advantage of the many opportunities that are available to them.

Very soon I expect to launch an initiative where we will be going out to young people, particularly