VICTORIA, Seychelles, Seychelles has for the first time put the drafting of its youth policy into the hands of young people themselves, with a nine-member committee presented with letters of appointment at the National Sports Council boardroom in Roche Caiman this week.
đź“· Photo: Children in front of La Digue school, Seychelles, by Elke Talma, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports Marc Arrisol handed the letters to the committee, chaired by Angelique Juliette, with Shaiid Melanie as vice-chairperson and Camilla Cupidon as secretary. The other members are Raymian Michel, Hendreika Monthy, Emilie Esparon, François Magloire, Liam D’Uneinville and Deborah Franchette.
The committee’s job is to draft a new National Youth Policy to replace the framework that covered 2019 to 2023. Mr Arrisol told the media the next policy, which is expected within six months, will run for a five-year term and rest on three core pillars: economic empowerment, social well-being and health, and civic engagement and leadership.
The 15-to-35 age range that the committee is working with matches the African Youth Charter definition of youth adopted by the African Union in 2006 and used by most member states since the charter entered into force in 2009. The previous Seychelles policy used the same age band, anchoring the country’s approach to youth within the continental framework.
Under the economic empowerment pillar, the committee is expected to focus on career guidance, skills development and entrepreneurship programmes, all aimed at reducing youth unemployment. The social well-being and health pillar will tackle drug abuse, mental health issues and physical inactivity, while the civic engagement and leadership pillar will look at how to give young Seychellois a stronger role in governance and decision-making.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mr Arrisol said the committee had been deliberately drawn from outside the Cabinet of Seychelles and its existing structures. “This time, we want the policy to be created by the youth and for the youth. We want the youth to be at the centre of this policy. It should be youth-led and youth-centred,” he said. “That’s why we decided to involve young people from outside the existing structures to draft their own aspirations for the next five years.”
Ms Juliette added that the committee is committed to ensuring the new policy reflects the realities of today’s youth rather than the priorities of officials who last drafted a youth document. The previous policy, in force from 2019 to 2023, was prepared internally by staff within the Youth Department. The appointment of the new committee marks the first time a standing body of young people has been entrusted with that work.
The new committee takes up its task at a moment when youth representation in Seychelles’ formal institutions is being broadened elsewhere. The Seychelles National Youth Assembly, an elected platform set up in 2007, has in recent years moved beyond its educational remit into a more formal role with adopted guidelines and procedures. Members of the Assembly have presented motions on issues including the school code of conduct that have fed into national discussions.
The new National Youth Policy will be presented for Cabinet consideration once the committee completes its drafting work, and is expected to be a cornerstone of the government’s strategy on youth for the rest of the decade.
Sources cited: National Youth Service (Seychelles), Wikipedia. African Youth Charter, Wikipedia. African Union, Wikipedia. Cabinet of Seychelles, Wikipedia.
Source: SN
