Director of the National Peace Program (NPP), Akil Daley, has called on Barbadians to support and get involved in this new government initiative.
Mr. Daley made the call on Thursday when the NPP’s change agents facilitated a team from the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), who visited a number of blocks to discuss climate change.
The Director stated: “The National Peace Program encompasses 150 projects and programmes and our intention is to saturate communities with as much positive activities as possible, whether sporting or life coaching events, or parental, gaming, or cooking programmes….
“Our belief is that if you are engaged in positive activity, you will have no time to be deviant. So, that is our plan to decentralise activities and bring them to communities, and get people engaged in positive areas.”
Mr. Daley gave the assurance that members of the public would soon hear more about the NPP, as he shared that two significant activities would be launched early in August.
“On August 4, we are going to launch our Glove over Guns initiative at Silver Hill, and on August 12, our flagship event Flip Ya Script, for 150 at-risk young people from various communities…,” he explained.
He noted that the climate change discussions were beneficial for the young residents of the communities, who embraced the programme.
National Coordinator of the CYEN, Shannon Weekes, explained that the organisation is undertaking research with an intern from the University of Chicago.
Ms. Weekes continued: “We will be having conversations with youth within different communities on climate change. We are going all around Barbados to involve the youths between 14 and 29, to see what they know about climate change and climate justice…. We thought that the NPP would be a good initiative to get involved in, since they (change agents) are coming into the communities to get persons who are unattached.
“We know that the youth are very important in national development, so it is not only about getting persons affiliated with NGOs…or faith-based organisations, …but also…persons who do not have any affiliation, … to get their input on these things because they will also be affected by the issues of climate change, and we need to factor in all of their opinions.”
The team from the NPP and CYEN visited the blocks at 7th Avenue New Orleans, Chapman Lane, Eagle Hall, and Deacons.
The National Peace Program is aimed at promoting peace, harmony, and stability in the country, and is an essential tool for preventing and reducing crime, in the short, medium, and long term. It can also help individuals develop important skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and leadership.
The day-to-day programme is being managed by the members of the NPP Project Unit, who plan and execute activities. The NPP has 12 pillars. They are: the LIVE WISE Campaign; Direct Intervention Programme; National Engagement; Community-Based Initiatives; Family-Based Initiatives; School-Based Initiatives; Rehabilitation Programmes; Enforcement; Intelligence and Tactical Initiatives; Institutional Reforms; Legal and Judicial Enhancements and Support Initiatives.