 The Youth Ambassador Program since its inception some 20 years ago has contributed to increased youth knowledge and awareness of curriculum issues and priorities. The program has also raised the profile of young people at the national and regional levels and assisted in integrating the views and perspectives of young people from across the region into national, regional and international policy and programs. Mary Wellfred is the Director of Youth in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports. Our curriculum youth ambassadors we usually have two, one male and one female. Primarily they are to educate young people on regional issues that affect them. They are to advocate on the rights of young people, be that advocacy, be that advocating chief for the things that pertain to young people as well. They strive to integrate young people in regional or sub-regional development and also they promote regional integration. So these young people, the curriculum youth ambassadors are really important in terms of education, in terms of advocacy, integration and also promotion. And their target group, their target group is young people and so with the programs and activities they would initiate, it would seek to ensure that regional integration is promoted and that the rights of young people are always advocated for on that level. Twenty-year-old Yakub Nesta of Barbano is St. Lucia's curriculum youth ambassador for 2020. Nesta disclosed that becoming a curriculum youth ambassador has always been one of his goals and he was elated when he got the opportunity. Highlighting his early influences, he explained why he got involved in youth work. My aunt Ekladi Terville, my mom in goodness on my dad Peter Jebaptis, my main pillars, especially my grandmom. But for me, it really all started when I joined Cassius Rancho Youth and Sports Council which I currently am the second vice president and I'm also on the Barbano Youth Development Committee as well. The other thing as well is that I've been very vocal in youth marginalization which really focuses on youth who tend to feel that they're not represented at forums. So you have people with disabilities, LGBTQI persons, grassroots persons, those basic things and really truly coming from that background, you really need to have an understanding as well. And when being a youth worker, I try my best to not judge because that is basically the key principle for me is really understanding everyone's mindset and concept and really what have you in this sort of position in life. Rejane Montut of Grozile got involved in youth work at the age of 14. Her selection as a curriculum youth ambassador came after several applications, however she was not discouraged and her persistence paid off. Volunteerism is her passion and has provided her with many opportunities. Montut, sharing words of advice, explained that while selfless acts may not offer any direct gains, it can be very beneficial. Youth development, community work, volunteerism is a selfless act. You do it because of the passion, you do it because you love it. It can very much benefit you in terms of your professional development, a lot of the skills that I have now and even for my current because I don't work full-time in volunteerism, youth development work and that sort of thing but I work in IT at the Court of Appeal and I could remember clearly some of the things that I was able to put on my CV that I still have on my CV started, I developed those skills in youth development work. So PR, marketing, secretarial work, administrative work, event planning, project management, leadership, communication, organization all of these skills were skills that I developed as a result of being part of the youth movement. So there is that indirect feel that just being part and parcel of any initiative can bring to you as a young person and secondly I would just say that you may not see the benefits directly so it's not like you come into it and you get paid or you come into it and you will get a direct benefit but there are long-term things you get to network with persons and your network is your net worth. So a lot of the people, a lot of the opportunities that I have received in life I could trace it back to that one day deciding to volunteer at that initiative. The Carrickham Youth Ambassador Program was launched in St. Lucia in 1993 by the heads of government to mark the 20th anniversary of Carrickham and was formally instituted in 1994.