Kamal Powell, aged 24, Jamaica

Since I graduated from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, most of my days have been spent creating and executing marketing activities for the company for which I work. Even though I have succeeded through the company’s graduate internship programme, the support and encouragement I get from colleagues to continue the hard work has motivated me even more to deliver breakthrough ideas and solutions.

This level of training has also guided me in the level of professionalism that I place in the volunteer work that I do with the wider community and less fortunate children, not only in Jamaica but the wider Commonwealth.

As Regional Chair of the Caribbean Regional Youth Caucus which consists of seventeen Commonwealth member countries, including Barbados, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, I spend the rest of my after work hours managing and creating projects that are geared towards mainstreaming youth across the region. These projects include planning Commonwealth Day youth lead activities, conducting youth empowerment sessions and advocating for youth rights at various levels.

It is my belief and that of Caucus that as youth we have to play our part in ensuring that we represent the rights and views of the youth in our societies who are unable to do it for themselves. With the support from organizations such as the National Centre for Youth Development here in Jamaica and Commonwealth Youth Programme I do believe we are on the road to success.

I believe the Commonwealth is dynamic group of countries with a diverse set of people that can be found nowhere in the world. Like ever other group of countries the Commonwealth has its challenges but with its strong belief in democracy and consensus as a means of developing solutions that can target at the issues we face, its remains a unique structure.

What I find most interesting and the envy of many groups is the level of support and investment that have been place behind the creation of various platforms to mainstream youth in the decision making processes of member governments, non-organizations and the decision-making platforms such as the Commonwealth Ministers Meeting and the Commonwealth Youth Forum. I found this extremely amazing that for a diverse group of countries we developed a mechanism that has cut across cultural diversities for the enrichment of our people.