By Helena Dorsette
A one-week workshop dubbed Creativity for Employment and Business Opportunity (CEBO) began on the right footing as some 30 of Montserrat’s youth ages 15-29 answered the call to find solutions not only for the unemployment question on Montserrat but the region and further afield.
Recognizing and acknowledging the propensity for problem-solving which the youth possess, the Honourable Minister for Youth Affairs Mrs. Delmaude Ryan dared the youth to put their skills to the test: “The world needs more business solutions”, she challenged, “and you have the answer”.
Using the illustration of the seemingly physical appendage which smartphones have become to the youth, Mrs. Ryan threw out yet another challenge: “If Apple had stopped at the iPhone, there wouldn’t have been an iPhone 6; If Samsung had stopped at the S2, we would not have had an S5. To be competitive and keep solving problems, you have to be ingenious and have the courage to break the rules, take risks and grow”.
How much can the youth on Montserrat grow is an answer only they can answer. It does however, seem pretty clear that the sky is the limit in regards to how far they can take their creations to the world with its billions of consumers. But are they willing to do this? Will they receivethat much-needed support they crave? Or will this workshop be yet another expense without returns? Do the youth really believe that they are capable to orchestrate positive, sustainable change on Montserrat? Will the people of Montserrat support and encourage them?
Many young people simply want to belong. At this developmental stage of their lifespan, psychologists like Erik Erikson and Jean Paiget posit that they need to carve out an identity for themselves, be their own person. Thus, the CEBO workshop appears to be well-placed to provide the catalyst needed to push the youth to explore their God-given potential, find their niche and be their own men and women.
Montserrat is the twelfth Member State on which CEBO has been implemented. According to Dr. Hilary Brown of the visiting CEBO Team, the 6-day training program is geared at engaging, motivating and inspiring entrepreneurial interest and action among the youth. The practical business experience which the workshop is set to facilitate include, but is not limited to the creation of simulated companies, development of a basic business plan, marketing and sale of products and or services using seed money supplied by the Bank of CEBO. At the conclusion of the workshop, the companies will prepare profit and loss statements, analyse their mistakes and successes. Developed to counter youth unemployment and to mitigate social ills such as drug abuse, crime and violence, the CEBO workshop is expected to foster economic resilience among the youth.
Mrs. Ryan pointed out to participants that an opportunity to make a difference was before them and reminded them that every great achievement “and every great successful business started with a step, a move to address a need, a move to fill an economic gap”, a move triggered by something deep within which would not settle for mediocrity. “You know you have a better solution”, she prompted after acknowledging some of the Montserratians who had taken steps to become household names in varying industries on the Island.
“Whose will be the next household name in Montserrat, the region and the World”? She questioned forcefully, encouraging the youth to “anticipate the needs of [your] customers/clients and end users and translate today’s new trends into tomorrow’s successful products”.
