The Tribune

SIX students from LN Coakley High School in Exuma have been selected by the US Embassy in Nassau to participate in the prestigious Youth Ambassadors Leadership Programme sponsored by the US Department of State through the embassy and implemented by World Learning.

World Learning is a global not-for-profit organisation with educational and international development operations in more than 75 countries. It fosters global citizen-activism by connecting over 100,000 participants. The Youth Ambassadors Programme brings together talented Caribbean students who are committed to improving the communities and able to represent their countries as citizen diplomats.

The Youth Ambassadors Programme with the Caribbean will be held August 7-28, in the US. The participants include Clive Ferguson, Kareem Minnis, Sky Cartwright, Tranique Brown, Wynter Curtis and Waydero Rolle.

Latrell Bethel will accompany the group as the adult chaperone.

From July 12-13, the youth ambassadors visited Nassau as part of their pre-departure orientation. The visit included a courtesy call with US Charge d'Affaires Lisa Johnson at the US Embassy, participation in a community service project with Bahamas National Trust and a welcome dinner where they got an opportunity to meet with US State Department alumnus and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Travis Robinson who gave a presentation on "What It Means to be a Youth Ambassador." The students also learned about higher education opportunities and the services offered by the State Department's Education USA programme.

The Youth Ambassadors Programme encompasses three segments in the US: First, a visit to Brattleboro, Vermont for a week-long leadership camp, then they will be divided into groups and travel to Kansas, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma or Seattle Washington for a ten-day home stay programme. While there, they will reside with a designated American family for a cross-cultural exchange. The programme will conclude in Washington, DC with a week-long civic education and workshop. Upon their return home to Exuma, the youth ambassadors implement a community service project based on their leadership experiences in the United States.

The Youth Ambassadors Programme started in Brazil 15 years ago and now includes 26 countries from throughout the Western Hemisphere. This year's programme will include 42 participants from the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and Grenada.