The Youth Achieving Results (YAR) programme under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, is being credited for opportunities provided to the young people through its outstanding productions.
This follows the showcasing of a theatrical production by the YAR programme at the Daphne Joseph Hackett Theatre, on October 9, where Minister of Youth, Charles Griffith, lauded the youth for the effort made.
He stated: “We’re in the business of constructing wings, and you would’ve seen it here this evening in relation to the YAR programme. What we’re doing at the Ministry [is] we’re constructing wings for our young people to fly; for our young people to soar.”
Minister Griffith urged those enrolled in the programme to set their sights higher, saying: “I want you, youngsters, to aim for the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts, (NIFCA) to be able to showcase the skillsets that come out of YAR, in the Frank Collymore Hall or where ever NIFCA will be held.”
He noted that there was no place currently to enjoy the type of entertainment that was displayed at the theatre, but pledged his Ministry would continue to pilot programmes like it.
“We will continue to see how we can work with partners, be it tutors or other entities to ensure that our young people are able to fly and soar. I’m pleased to see the progress,” he stated.
The YAR programme has been in existence for over 20 years, tutoring youth in music, media, and other cultural industries. It is an incubator programme that uses an interdisciplinary approach to the development of the arts.
Participants are exposed to life skills as well as the many abilities required for either the performing arts or the visual arts, as a result of this approach.