On the margins of the 2nd Wider Caribbean Regional Risk Conference, a Youth Townhall was 
hosted, which brought together 128 young people from across the Caribbean, with 19 attending in person in Barbados and 109 joining virtually. The participants represented at least 14 countries, including Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Saint Lucia, and Turks and Caicos Islands. This broad participation underscored the regional scope of youth interest in disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and development opportunities.
The Youth Forum provided a comprehensive platform for Caribbean youth to voice their priorities and perspectives on critical issues affecting the region. A key takeaway was the strong regional consensus on the need to prioritize green, blue, and sustainable economies, emphasizing that investments in these areas are vital for fostering resilience and ecological sustainability. Youth highlighted the importance of investing in education, health, and renewable energy, along with the urgent need to combat misinformation through digital literacy and social accountability from social media platforms. The forum underscored that empowering youth through skills development, entrepreneurship support, and active participation in policymaking are essential for shaping a resilient, inclusive future.
Participants represented a wide cross-section of institutions, including the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine, Mona, Cave Hill Campuses), Harrison College (Barbados), University of Guyana, CARICOM, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment (Barbados), Cyril Potter College of Education (Guyana), University of Technology (Jamaica), UN World Food Programme, and the Ministry of National Security (St. Vincent). This mix included high school students, undergraduates, postgraduates, government-affiliated youth leaders, and young professionals.
The session was co-moderated by Jamala Alexander (CCRIF SPC) and Mr. Zachary Murray (Graduate Student, Master of Public Administration and Master of Arts in International Relations, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University). Speakers included youth leaders including Joshua Andall (Youth Parliament, Grenada), Dorian Clarke (Youth Climate Voice Caribbean and former CCRIF scholar), and Brion Thomas (University of Guyana), alongside Mr. Daniel Best, President, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Mr. Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, CCRIF SPC, and Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Regional Manager for the Caribbean CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Some Takeaways from the Discussion
- Financing for the Future – Youth consistently placed education, health and climate at the top, and called for climate-smart infrastructure and entrepreneurship funding.
- Misinformation, Disinformation & AI – Youth flagged the danger of online rumours, the limits of fact-checkers, and called for stronger digital literacy integration into schools.
Some Youth Priorities for Development Partners – Recommendations included expanded internships, integrating mental health into policies, ensuring youth participation in policymaking, and funding youth-led innovation
Leaders Respond to the Youth
Mr. Isaac Anthony, CCRIF SPC, highlighted CCRIF’s long-standing commitment to youth through its Regional Internship Programme (222 placements since 2015) and Scholarship/Professional Development Programme (296 awards since 2010, US$2.1M invested). These initiatives give young people entry into disaster risk management, risk modelling, and parametric insurance, fields he urged youth to consider as vital for building regional resilience. He emphasized that CCRIF’s decade of internships and scholarships has already produced professionals who moved into permanent and senior roles in national, regional and international organizations.
Mr. Daniel Best, Caribbean Development Bank, reinforced youth as “co-owners” of development, pointing to the Youth Policy & Operational Strategy (2020) and the Future Leaders Network (2023), which engages 18–35-year-olds from CDB Borrowing Member Countries as advisors and advocates. Mr. Daniel Best committed to embedding youth perspectives in CDB’s new 10-year strategy and flagged the risk of brain drain, stressing the importance of creating meaningful opportunities within the Caribbean to retain talent. His remarks aligned with calls for inclusion in policy, internships, and smoother school-to-work transitions.
Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, CAF, linked youth priorities on jobs, climate, and integration to CAF’s current work. She mentioned SOMOS – Spanish Opens More Opportunities (launched 2025 in Jamaica) as a tool to expand employability in trade and tourism. On climate, she noted CAF has invested in the blue economy, financing marine sanitation, sustainable tourism and low-carbon transport. She stressed that beyond technical knowledge, youth need soft skills, echoing calls for resilience that is holistic and future focused.
