National Children’s Summit for Jamaica Conference Centre for August Excludes Sexuality Issues

The following press release came to had via email from a reader originally from the Child Development Agency, CDA and it struck me that the core issues of sexuality, early initiation and sex that have bee raised via various incidents (JFJ sex manual matter included) and by numerous public commentators and private citizens yet this upcoming conference seems to nicely ignore those realities. In light of the recent announcement Youth Ministry to develop programmes to address LGBT youth, homeless, destitute and vulnerable children a conference of this type would at least begin to look at some of these issues affecting teens even as none state actors also shrug their ow responsibilities in a sense while passing them off to government.

Just saying ..........

The release said:

Nearly 600 children from across Jamaica will converge on the Jamaica Conference Centre on August 21, 2014, for the Child Development Agency’s first National Children’s Summit.

Being spearheaded by CDA’s Children Advisory Panel (CAP), under the theme, “Creating Opportunities for Jamaica’s Vulnerable Children- Opening Doors to Securing a Brighter Future,” the Summit is part of the CDA’s 10th anniversary celebrations being observed from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015.

CAP is a 15-member grouping pulled from different sectors of the society which was established in 2012 to provide child-friendly advice to CDA’s Executive Management Team and the CDA Advisory Board..

In addition to CAP members, those to attend the Summit include children nominated from youth organizations, church groups; children who are in the care of the State and representatives of the Office of the Children’s Registry Child Ambassador corps, the Office of the Children’s Advocate Children’s Advisory Group and the National Centre for Youth Development, among others.

CDA’s CAP Chairperson Charles Young explained that the team had identified the need for the Summit as part of its general itinerary of activities and is primarily an extension of its mandate to seek and represent the views of children, especially those who are in the care of the State on matters affecting them.

“The objective of the Summit is to create an environment in which children ages 9 to 17 can interact and share experiences and views on critical issues affecting them in Jamaica, and to make recommendations on how these issues can be addressed,” Mr. Young said, pointing to a number of issues which have been impacting children and young persons, including child abuse, neglect, general violence permeating the society, bulling, and general lack of respect for others and their properties, and other socioeconomic factors impacting almost every individual.

“Our goal is to give these children a voice. During the Summit, we will encourage them to have open and honest discussions on the matters affecting them, and to come up with solutions that we can share with the leadership of the CDA,” Mr. Young said.

Giving details on the features of the Summit, Kinshashia Johnson, PR Officer for the CDA CAP said that the event will feature an official opening ceremony, with speeches by the Minister of Youth and Culture, the Hon. Lisa Hanna, and CEO of the CDA Rosalee Gage-Grey and child representatives; topical workshop discussions, and interactive sessions on technology, art and craft, and career development.

Workshop sessions will include discussions on Managing Conflict; Knowing Your Rights as well as Your Responsibilities; Helping Children Transition from the Primary to Secondary Education System; Success for Today, Tomorrow and Beyond; Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Abilities and Technology for Kids and Teens.

Ms. Johnson further disclosed that interactive features of the Summit will be an art and craft room called Art Expression Centre which will allow children to creatively express themselves by participating in painting of a mural; a Spa Oasis facilitated by HEART/NTA to provide beauty treatment services and demonstrations to the children, while appealing to their professional development; a play therapy area; a Robotics Display that will allow children to participate in assembling Lego robots; computer games, as well as a feature titled ‘Exploring the Musical You’.

She pointed out that adults who will be in attendance as chaperones or as specially invited guests will not be neglected as sessions are also planned for them Parents and caregivers who will participate in a workshop session called Good Parenting versus Bad Parenting, Success for Today, Tomorrow and Beyond and Knowing Your Rights as well as Your Responsibilities, the latter of which will be delivered with a special focus on child participatory rights.

In preparation for the Children’s Summit, the Children’s Advisory Panel members are currently carrying out a number of pre-summit meetings with children in different parishes across the island. Miss Johnson indicated that this was necessary because “the issues to be explored and discussed are so many and we had to find creative and cost effective ways to cover a number of areas, which could ordinarily not be possible in a one day event.

The Summit is seeking to achieve a number of specific outcomes including, developing a document outlining recommendations for improvements in service to children in Jamaica; giving children a greater understanding of initiatives being carried out by both State and Non-State actors; creating an avenue through which children can share their experiences.

The children will also be reviewing and providing a report on issues of importance affecting them and assessing the Children’s Declaration which was developed during the 2012 UN Regional Meeting on Violence against Children, to determine if the recommendations have been achieved, and if not, what they believe would be necessary to move the process along.

CDA CEO Rosalee Gage-Grey congratulated CDA CAP on the staging of the first National Children’s Summit, noting that the Agency is keen to hear the views of the children and to work closely with them in finding workable solutions to some of the issues they face.

“Since CAP was established two years ago to provide policy advice to the CDA Executive Management Team and the CDA Advisory Board, the group has been consistent in undertaking initiatives that have helped us in advancing the matter of child protection in Jamaica,” Mrs. Gage-Grey said.

ENDS

Typical sanitized approaches to looking at issues yet sexuality is ignored for the most part and as the investigations or witch hunt for the so called culprits responsible for the sex educational manual from Jamaicans for Justice continue I think as that has gone suddenly so quiet despite an interim report from the child development agency and an interim board of JFJ becoming active and vocal as of late.

I would have thought 16 year olds to 17 or 18 who are at the legal age of majority would have not been included in this as "children" as they are teenagers with much more issues to contend with; seeing that the age of consent is 16, yet the age of majority is 18 when it comes to getting married but to adopt a child one has to be 25 years of age and older under our laws. These weird gaps in age and legal definitions of a child versus how we treat with teens issues is of great concern.

The abuse of tees the nightly lists of missing kids seems not important for this conference and as for sexual orientation embedded in sexuality where that is nowhere to be seen. The topic on children knowing their rights one wonders if that is to supposedly bump he JFJ version of it and present a more comfortable version excluding same gender sex issues and avoidance of abuse by other tees as well as adults; owing to the fact that only church groups seemed to be the ones invited.

Let us see how this one goes.

Also see:

Youth Minister Lisa Hanna's conflation of same gender sex & abuse responded to part 2

Concerned sources claim that ... Boys kissed, fondled by male teacher

Children’s Advocacy & LGBT Agencies inconsistent approach to Homeless MSM Youth

Urgent need for sex & sexuality to be discussed nationally and Part 2 2012, not much has changed eh?

also see Dr Heather Little-White's take recently prior to her passing: Sexuality Education ... To Teach Or Not To Teach? 

UPDATE

Peace and tolerance

H