Upcoming Activities: Query and Consolidated Reply

The first query of our community of practice comes from Kashta Graham, Obra Project Coordinator. This USAID funded project aims to create a sustainable partnership between the public, private and civil society organizations that promotes entrepreneurship and addresses the employability of unattached youth.According to the 2007 Labour Force survey, there are an estimated 127, 000 unattached youth in Jamaica and of that number, 63% are female (HEART Trust/ NTA, 2009). The issue of unattached youths is a concern within the basic education sector, because this is generally the result of a fractured early education experience. Such young people are  economically dependent, and are at risk of engaging in crime and anti-social behaviour. This is supported by statistics that show:

•     68 % of unemployed youth have no academic qualification
•     70 – 75% of unattached youth need remedial education
•     50% of individuals who commit  major crimes were between 12 and 25 years old

 (Economic and social  survey, 2007, cited in HEART Trust/ NTA, 2009)As a result of these concerns, our colleagues from the Obra Project will be seeking your insight about potential solutions to the issue of literacy among at-risk youth. We look forward to your avid attention and spirited contributions, which will be enhanced by additional research from the Facilitation Team and coalesced into a consolidated reply.The query and consolidated reply service is one that we’re excited to offer to our members, and we encourage you to submit a question and tap into the expertise of the community. Queries are shared with the membership through a closed discussion forum that lasts for 10 days. Comments, suggestions, resources and similar experiences are collected by the Facilitation Team and enhanced through additional subject matter expertise and research. A consolidated reply is created and made available to all members on the CoP website. The query service is a great way to get timely and relevant information about a specific issue or question. Members may submit queries here: http://jamaica.kdid.org/queries-and-discussions . To submit your query, send an email to queries@jamaica.kdid.org by:

•     Clicking on the link
•     Clicking suggest
•     Typing the question in outlook
•     Pressing send