JIS: The Youth and Adolescent Division in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, in partnership with the Safety and Security Unit, will train youth leaders across the island to be a part of the National Safety and Security Ambassadors Programme.

 

This is part of the Ministry’s Safety and Security initiative to create safe zones in schools and their surrounding communities.

 

Addressing a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, Acting Senior Development Specialist in the Youth and Adolescent Division, Anisa Wilson-Smith, said the programme seeks to empower students to raise awareness about safety and security issues among the student population, thereby enabling them to better protect themselves and others.

 

The youth leaders will be selected mainly from the National Secondary Students’ Council (NSSC), Peer Educators (Prefects) and the National Youth Council of Jamaica.

 

These Ambassadors will attend a series of safety and security workshops and capacity-building sessions, which are essential to the development and sustainability of an effective programme.

 

Mrs. Wilson-Smith noted that the programme will be piloted in Region Three, which covers Trelawny and St. Ann, in the summer of 2019, and implementation will begin at the start of the new school year in September.

 

Other goals of the programme are to instil positive values and attitude regarding safety and security policies and practices, to aid administrators with additional resources to deal with the issue of safety and security in schools, and to strengthen the leadership capacity of the ambassadors.

 

Mrs. Wilson-Smith explained that this is a collaborative effort with entities such as the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), HEART Trust/NTA, the Ministry of Justice, and other stakeholders.

 

CAPTION: Acting Senior Development Specialist in the Youth and Adolescent Division, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Anisa Wilson-Smith, addresses recent JIS ‘Think Tank’.