February 2017 |Business View Caribbean

4 5 FEB/MAR 2017 Opening Lines The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has be- gun engaging citizens of member states on issues impacting their lives, the challenges facing the region, and the development op- portunities for the OECS and its people. The public education forum series, dubbed Vini Koze –Kweyol for ‘Come chat’– is aimed at educating and in- forming the people of the OECS on the social, economic and political benefits of regional integration. It seeks to ensure citizen engage- ment and active partic- ipation in the regional integration process. Each forum features a panel comprising rep- resentatives of govern- ment, the private sector, OECS Engages Citizens on Key Development Issues an international organization, civil society, and the NGO community. The forum is held before a live audience who engage panelists in discus- sion through a moderator. The forum series commenced in the BVI in mid-January. The BVI forum evoked discussion on successes in education in the OECS, and created greater awareness of deficiencies. It also generated a range of fresh ideas, strategies and possible solutions that can be applied in creating a better education system across member states. Head of the Education Unit at the OECS, Marcellus Albertin, noted that, while the region has recorded some suc- cess in education, an estimated 70 percent of students within the secondary school system are under-performing, with some eventually becoming high school dropouts. The second forum on youth empowerment and development was held in Anguilla. Director of youth and culture in Anguilla, Bren Romney, noted that youth account for about 60 percent of the global population. He said society has a responsibility to create an environment condu- cive to the positive growth and development of youth. Elbert Ellis, a social analyst and operations officer at the Social Sector Division of the Ca- ribbean Development Bank, believes Caribbean society must guard against policies, measures, and approaches which could frustrate young people. The Anguilla forum also addressed youth unemployment, youth crime and violence, the juvenile justice system, as well as develop- ment opportunities for young persons, especial- ly in the areas of education, sports, and the arts. The OECS Public Education Forum Series (PEFS) will run until March 2017. It is being staged across six OECS member states includ- ing the BVI, Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Martinique and will be televised across the OECS upon completion. The forum series is part of the pub-