Caribbean youth demand structural shift from consultation to co-governance at UN forum

Caribbean youth leaders used the 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum at the United Nations on Wednesday to press governments across the region to move beyond symbolic inclusion and toward shared decision-making power in national development planning.

The Caribbean Regional Breakout Session, co-moderated by Antigua and Barbuda’s Esquire Henry and the Bahamas’ Amber Turner, drew on the outcomes of the Caribbean Youth Dialogue, the preparatory process coordinated with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Sub-Regional Headquarters for the Caribbean.

Liam Miller, National Youth Ambassador for the Bahamas, opened with figures from ECLAC’s 2026 report on the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, noting that only 19 percent of Sustainable Development Goal targets are on track to be met by 2030, 42 percent are moving too slowly, and 39 percent have either stalled or reversed.

“Caribbean youth are not raising these issues simply to make noise. We are raising them because the road to 2030 demands more than talk,” Miller told delegates.

Two members of Antigua and Barbuda’s delegation delivered addresses during the session.

National Youth Ambassador Kristine Louisa spoke on the value of sustainable cities and communities, noting that more than 70 percent of the Caribbean’s population lives in urban areas according to ECLAC, yet urbanisation has not consistently produced equitable access to basic services.

She called for institutionalising youth participation in urban governance through formal advisory councils and participatory budgeting, investing in climate-resilient public spaces, and strengthening waste management while scaling renewable energy.

“For small island states like Antigua and Barbuda, sustainable communities are not an aspiration, they are a necessity, and we are choosing to build them intentionally,” Louisa said.

National Youth Ambassador Amelia Williams addressed youth empowerment and economic development, pointing to Antigua and Barbuda’s growing orange economy and its partnership with UNESCO on cultural heritage mapping and intangible cultural heritage projects.

She highlighted the Glanvilles School of Agriculture, dedicated to aquaponics and farming, and the multimillion-dollar investment in the Harrison Centre of Vocational Institute.

Williams also referenced the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS and its emphasis on food security.

“By merging entrepreneurship with vocational training, Antigua and Barbuda is turning second chances into first-tier opportunities,” Williams said.

Youth respondents from across the region addressed the various issues such as clean water and sanitation, highlighting aging infrastructure, high levels of non-revenue water loss, and climate vulnerability disproportionately affecting rural and low-income communities.

Lucian York of St Kitts and Nevis argued that Caribbean innovation must be context-specific and disability-inclusive.

“When solutions are not rooted in our realities, we are not being innovative. We are being invasive,” York said, warning that artificial intelligence risks widening existing gaps if persons with disabilities are excluded from its design.

Amanda Slew, the Commonwealth Youth Council’s regional representative for the Caribbean and the Americas, called for a minimum 50 percent increase in active national youth councils across the region and the revitalisation of the Caribbean Regional Youth Council.

Ashley Lashley, Youth Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Change, said the region’s approach needed a systemic shift.

“Symbolic gestures of youth inclusion are not going to fix that,” Lashley said, calling for youth access to financing to scale solutions and for education systems to treat water, energy, and infrastructure careers as real employment pathways.

The Antigua and Barbuda delegation, described as one of the largest youth delegations in the country’s history, is led by Director of Youth Affairs Dr Jrucilla Samuel and comprises National Youth Ambassadors Christal Percival, Williams, Louisa, and Shacia Albertine, along with National Youth Volunteer Corps General Secretary Sara Bacchus and Henry.

National Youth Ambassador Christal Percival is expected to present on the final day of the forum.