Acting Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, the Honourable Sean Sobers, today, delivered the feature
address at the closing of The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Youth Forum on
Justice, Gender and Security, at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) Auditorium, National
Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), in Port of Spain.
During his address, Minister Sobers stated, “Gender equality is not a favour this society grants. It is a
debt this society owes, and every generation must decide how much of it they will repay.” He
emphasized, “Justice must be more than a system that young people appear before. It must be a promise
young people can believe in – In the courtroom, but also in the classroom.” The Minister added,
“Security is not built by patrols alone. It is built wherever a young person is given something to belong
to that is stronger than what threatens to claim them.”
Minister Sobers highlighted that “sport and youth development are not soft policies; they are frontline
security policies, and what has been accomplished here extends far beyond national significance.” This
work, the Minister stated, “reflects the very principles that the country presented to the international
community and reinforces Trinidad and Tobago’s commitment to advancing peace, inclusion, justice,
and sustainable security both regionally and globally.”
The UNDP Youth Forum aimed to create pathways for youth to influence policy and community
decision-making; strengthen youth knowledge of civic, human, and gender rights; and support youthled innovation, peacebuilding and advocacy.
Acting Sport and Youth Affairs Minister, The Honourable Sean Sobers addressed the youth as he
concluded his address, noting that “the recommendations you have produced, place you in a
conversation the entire Caribbean is having, and your government intends to carry your voice into it.”
Minister Sobers urged the graduands to “receive your certificates not as the end of a programme or
forum, but as credentials for a duty to speak in every room, in every community, in every institution, the
way you have spoken here.” The Minister also thanked UNDP’s Resident Representative, Hugo Blanco
and his team, for their partnership with the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, and by extension,
Trinidad and Tobago, and for placing young people at the centre of the development agenda where the
government firmly believes it belongs.