10
change. Climate change is impacting youth and
their communities, their enterprises and their
overall wellbeing, specifically in locations
exposed to storms, floods, droughts and fires
(ILO 2013). The lack of opportunities for youth
is a dismal calamity for Caribbean SIDS. Youth
in SIDS suffer from reduced prospects of formal
and informal education and training within their
respective communities. This problem is compounded by an increase in migration, especially
amongst the most educated youth, resulting from
being unable to visualise a future within their
islands due to high unemployment. This ‘brain
drain’ saps the island’s sustainable future alongside the severe impact SIDS are already experiencing due to climate change (UNEP 2013).
Understanding young people’s lives requires
looking both at how youth are constructed, i.e.
imagined and characterised as a meaningful
social, economic and political group; and also
how youth is usually experienced by young people (White 2012; Carter 2008) Policy discourse
on youth development tends to view youth in a
future-oriented way, seeing youth (the person) as
human capital, and youth (the condition) as characteristically a period of transition (White 2012).
Thus, the definition of youth is an issue for many
associations and countries. The UN has its age
definition of youth (UN 2005) and so does the
Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Youth
Programme (Commonwealth Secretariat 2007).
The UN defines youth as a cohort of persons
from 15 to 24 years of age whereas, in the
Commonwealth, youth is defined as the category
of persons aged 15–29 years (Simmons 2006).
In the Commonwealth, age definition categories also range from country to country. In some
countries, the age definition is culturally determined, while in others there are other considerations to do with behaviour, level of responsibility,
legal obligations, attitude, status and level of vulnerability to social and economic conditions
(Takewira and Simmons 2004; Simmons 2006;
Commonwealth Secretariat 2007). For example,
in South Africa, a young person can legally consent to sexual intercourse at the age of 16, obtain
a driver’s license at 17, vote at 18, but can own
land only at 21 years of age (Simmons 2006;
Carter 2008). Youth are often denied access to
credit, through microcredit schemes, because of
the requirement for clients to be at the legal age
of 18 or 21 (depending on the country) to sign the
contract document.
Qualitatively, youth is defined as a phase when
a person moves from a time of dependency
(childhood) to independence (adulthood).
According to the World Development Report
2007: Development and the next generation
(World Bank 2007), this transition involves several common shifts, which present unique
challenges:
(a) Moving from school to seek work and independent sources of income.
(b) Moving from parental homes to new living
arrangements.
(c) Forming close relationships outside the family, often resulting in marriage and children.
(Simmons 2006; World Bank 2007)
The age definition of youth (15–24 years) is
appropriate for developed countries where the
transition from childhood to adulthood is predictable and smooth, i.e. a child would complete his/
her primary and secondary education then move
on to university or join an apprenticeship programme and would, on completion, start working
by the age of 25 years (ILO 2010). However, it is
not appropriate to use this definition for youth in
SIDS; the World Bank’s ‘Life Cycle’ model
(World Bank 2005) of youth development should
be used in defining these young people. The life
cycle transition process can be conceptualised as
a process where a young person thrives towards
achieving economic independence, autonomy
and adapts to adult responsibility. These changes
may continue past the age of 24 years depending
on social, cultural, political and economic factors, specifically on the level of vulnerability of
the youth.
This use of definition is supported by observing the youth participants in the focus group discussions and the participatory mapping process.
These youth view the youth development stage as
critical along the national development continuum. They believe that if the necessary invest2 Interrogation of the Literature on the Impact of Climate Change on Youth in SIDS,…
change. Climate change is impacting youth and
their communities, their enterprises and their
overall wellbeing, specifically in locations
exposed to storms, floods, droughts and fires
(ILO 2013). The lack of opportunities for youth
is a dismal calamity for Caribbean SIDS. Youth
in SIDS suffer from reduced prospects of formal
and informal education and training within their
respective communities. This problem is compounded by an increase in migration, especially
amongst the most educated youth, resulting from
being unable to visualise a future within their
islands due to high unemployment. This ‘brain
drain’ saps the island’s sustainable future alongside the severe impact SIDS are already experiencing due to climate change (UNEP 2013).
Understanding young people’s lives requires
looking both at how youth are constructed, i.e.
imagined and characterised as a meaningful
social, economic and political group; and also
how youth is usually experienced by young people (White 2012; Carter 2008) Policy discourse
on youth development tends to view youth in a
future-oriented way, seeing youth (the person) as
human capital, and youth (the condition) as characteristically a period of transition (White 2012).
Thus, the definition of youth is an issue for many
associations and countries. The UN has its age
definition of youth (UN 2005) and so does the
Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Youth
Programme (Commonwealth Secretariat 2007).
The UN defines youth as a cohort of persons
from 15 to 24 years of age whereas, in the
Commonwealth, youth is defined as the category
of persons aged 15–29 years (Simmons 2006).
In the Commonwealth, age definition categories also range from country to country. In some
countries, the age definition is culturally determined, while in others there are other considerations to do with behaviour, level of responsibility,
legal obligations, attitude, status and level of vulnerability to social and economic conditions
(Takewira and Simmons 2004; Simmons 2006;
Commonwealth Secretariat 2007). For example,
in South Africa, a young person can legally consent to sexual intercourse at the age of 16, obtain
a driver’s license at 17, vote at 18, but can own
land only at 21 years of age (Simmons 2006;
Carter 2008). Youth are often denied access to
credit, through microcredit schemes, because of
the requirement for clients to be at the legal age
of 18 or 21 (depending on the country) to sign the
contract document.
Qualitatively, youth is defined as a phase when
a person moves from a time of dependency
(childhood) to independence (adulthood).
According to the World Development Report
2007: Development and the next generation
(World Bank 2007), this transition involves several common shifts, which present unique
challenges:
(a) Moving from school to seek work and independent sources of income.
(b) Moving from parental homes to new living
arrangements.
(c) Forming close relationships outside the family, often resulting in marriage and children.
(Simmons 2006; World Bank 2007)
The age definition of youth (15–24 years) is
appropriate for developed countries where the
transition from childhood to adulthood is predictable and smooth, i.e. a child would complete his/
her primary and secondary education then move
on to university or join an apprenticeship programme and would, on completion, start working
by the age of 25 years (ILO 2010). However, it is
not appropriate to use this definition for youth in
SIDS; the World Bank’s ‘Life Cycle’ model
(World Bank 2005) of youth development should
be used in defining these young people. The life
cycle transition process can be conceptualised as
a process where a young person thrives towards
achieving economic independence, autonomy
and adapts to adult responsibility. These changes
may continue past the age of 24 years depending
on social, cultural, political and economic factors, specifically on the level of vulnerability of
the youth.
This use of definition is supported by observing the youth participants in the focus group discussions and the participatory mapping process.
These youth view the youth development stage as
critical along the national development continuum. They believe that if the necessary invest2 Interrogation of the Literature on the Impact of Climate Change on Youth in SIDS,…