The Tribune

BY ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE INTER-AMERICAN Development Bank (IDB) is aiming to expand its Teen Summer Programme next year by increasing funding, taking on more students and broadening its outreach to schools,

Shirley Gayle, the IDB's Bahamas country representative, said the ambitions seek to build on what organisers described as a successful pilot aimed at exposing public school students to career opportunities and professional development.

She added that the programme's first year showed the value of investing in young people, but acknowledged that budget constraints limited participation to just 15 students.

"The first thing is that I would like to assign a larger budget to it," Ms Gayle said. "Budgets are usually tight, so we had to be very creative with this small amount of funds that we had.

“We were only able to take 15, and that was, of course, because of limitations in budget. But I think I'd like to be able to go up to at least 20 next time around."

The programme was delivered on what Ms Gayle described as a "moderate" budget of less than $20,000, although she declined to disclose the exact amount. Beyond additional funding, the IDB also hopes to increase male participation after receiving relatively few applications from boys.

"I certainly would like to bring in more students,” Ms Gayle said. “Maybe focus on bringing in more boys… because we were a little bit disappointed that we didn't receive more applications from boys. But the two that we had represented well." 

The IDB also plans to widen its engagement with schools while maintaining its emphasis on students from lower and middle-income households.

"We were very deliberate with that,” Ms Gayle said. “We didn't want the elite schools. We targeted public schools, a few private schools, but private schools that working class people would send their kids to."

She said the organisation intentionally focused on students whose families would likely be unable to afford similar programmes, noting that comparable opportunities can cost thousands of dollars.

"We knew that those were the students coming from homes where the parents would most likely not be able to afford to send them to a programme like this," Ms Gayle said. "So this is the value we knew that we were bringing, and we wanted to ensure that we targeted the right people."

Speaking at the programme's closing ceremony, the IDB country representative said the initiative grew out of a desire to intervene earlier in the lives of young Bahamians after learning of a teenage girl who had spent six weeks in jail without receiving a single visit from family or friends.

"It made me feel really, really sad, and it got me thinking, I need to do something,” she said. “We as the IDB here in The Bahamas need to do something to reach our young people of this age group, and to help them see themselves going in a different direction." 

The idea was conceived more than a year ago but postponed to allow adequate planning before launching this summer. Students were nominated by their schools before completing essays and undergoing a competitive selection process reviewed by an IDB committee.

The two-week programme exposed participants to the work of the IDB across The Bahamas and the wider Latin American and Caribbean region, while introducing them to careers in international development, financial literacy, ethics, teamwork, leadership and professional communication.

Students also met professionals from organisations including Bahamas Power & Light (BPL), the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), the University of The Bahamas, Heritage Partners, the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA), the Department of Marine Resources, Atlantis, Doctors Hospital and Royal Caribbean.

The sessions included scholarship presentations, internship opportunities and mock job interviews conducted by human resource managers. Participants also volunteered with the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), planting a commemorative tree to mark the inaugural programme.

The country representative praised IDB staff for volunteering additional time alongside their regular responsibilities to mentor students and develop the initiative. She argued that the programme reflects the same long-term development philosophy that has guided the IDB's partnership with The Bahamas for nearly 50 years.

"The intention of the programme was to plant seeds in our youth today, so that The Bahamas will reap a bountiful harvest in the years to come," Ms Gayle said.

Although the IDB manages projects spanning infrastructure, governance and economic development across The Bahamas, she suggested the internship may prove to be one of the institution's most meaningful investments.

"Something has given us the feeling that with this teen summer programme we have created our best project yet," she said.