The Trinidad and Tobago Liaison Office held a successful Orientation and Graduation for members of the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) at The Brix Hotel on Sunday 11th December 2022. The YAG, which is made up of young people aged 18-25, provides a voice for the youth in the UNFPA, their community, and their youth organizations.
Sixteen young people, including five new YAGees, participated in the activities.
The ceremony which was coordinated by Johanthan Edwards (Co-Chair), began with a warm video welcome from Bernice Antoine (Co-Chair).
Maurice Burke, a former YAGee who is currently a consultant, introduced the new members to the work of UNFPA, the YAG, and outlined the group's goals and objectives.
YAG Special Advisors Kimberly Gilbert and Nikoli Edwards played a pivotal role in the activities, by leading in short presentations on the important areas of focus for the YAG including youth access to SRH services including the Minor’s Access Report; population dynamics and the Montevideo Consensus; youth policies; and UNFPA’s work with youth.
The passionate words of Samantha Rampersad and Abigail Moore helped to share the experience of being a member of the YAG.
The discussions of the meeting were so rich that at one point, an employee of the hotel also felt led to contribute, and shared about her work in gender-responsive youth work. This was well received by the members of the YAG.
YAGees especially enjoyed participating in “JeoPARODY”, (an entertaining and educational parody of the game show Jeopardy) where they were posed with questions along the lines of UNFPA’s focus, and youth leadership.
The highlight of the ceremony was the graduation of the YAG members, who had completed two years of active service within the YAG. YAGees celebrated their achievements with a round of applause.
Burke thanked the members for their hard work and dedication and praised them for their commitment to making a difference.
Overall, the Orientation and Graduation ceremony was a success, and the YAG members are excited to continue their work and make a positive impact in their community.
