Antigua and Barbuda has topped the list of countries that participated in the Best Project Competition held by the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (ES-CICAD).
The twin island nation’s three-member delegation comprised Caricom Youth Ambassadors Esquire Henry and Pia Nichols, and member of the National Youth Volunteer Corps Aaron Gittens.
The Best Project Competition formed part of the second Caribbean Youth Forum on Drug Use Prevention that took place in the Bahamas from July 31 to August 4.
The Caribbean’s 13 sovereign island countries got the opportunity to showcase leadership qualities by designing a strategic proposal to tackle substance use in schools. The Antigua and Barbuda team submitted its proposal entitled Dekryption on August 18. The news came last week that Antigua and Barbuda had made the short list. And on August 31, the trio vied for a spot in the top three via a presentation.
Nichols explained that Dekryption is a club targeting young people aged 11 to 14. She also underscored the importance of providing a safe space for youth and developing life skills to build psychosocial competence and mental fortitude.
Given just five minutes for each team to present, Gittens concisely highlighted the assumptions, timeline and risks, along with strategies to recruit and engage members, and acquire additional funding.
Henry noted that the success of the year-long initiative hinges not only on the financial and technical assistance of the Organisation of American States (OAS) which established CICAD, but also the collaboration of various stakeholders. They include the Department of Youth Affairs, National Youth Volunteer Corps, Family and Social Services Division, and Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP).
The presentations from Jamaica, Suriname, Barbados, Grenada, and Dominica were all impressive, but there was only space for three winning teams. After some encouraging feedback, the announcement came in the following order: Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Suriname.
Nichols, Henry and Gittens thanked the Department of Youth Affairs for its guidance and said they look forward to launching the project in the coming months.