CYPCC has endorsed the Commission which was launched in Suriname on March 5, 2007 and has committed to supporting this body as a youth development partner in the region.

Mr. Alberto Vellos

Alberto's appointment and that of Trinidad youth advocate Mr. Ravi Shaw bring the Commission up to the full youth component required.

CYPCC has endorsed the Commission which was launched in Suriname on March 5, 2007 and has committed to supporting this body as a youth development partner in the region. CYPCC has had a long and successful relationship with the CARICOM Secretariat on youth development in the Caribbean and the appointment of an RYC further demonstrates the magnitude of this collaboration. 

CYPCC Programme Manager Youth Development, Ms Dwynette Eversley, in a congratulatory note to Alberto, stated: "Please remember that because you are an RYC, you represent a network of young people from 16 other countries in the Caribbean and you are in the excellent and enviable position to ensure all their views are taken into consideration in your work on the Commission.  You will also have the important mandate to be the voice of indigenous youth of the Region." 

Commenting on his new appointment, Alberto said: "It is a great privilege to have been selected to the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development. To my mind the mandate of the Commission is tremendous but when executed will be an essential tool for our region's policy makers to make more appropriate and practical decisions that affect young people." 

"I join our Regional Director in applauding the efforts of the CARICOM Heads of Government in establishing the Commission and those behind the scenes that agitated for it. I am very happy that the majority of the members on the Commission are young people like me. The Commission is a real effort to show the true picture of the challenges faced by young people, and can serve to realise the untapped resource that young people are, thereby ensuring that we have a proper and ongoing say on issues that affect us."

CYPCC is confident that, as a Commissioner, Alberto will continue to demonstrate the same level of professionalism and commitment that he has shown as a RYC member and we wish him a successful tenure.