The First Sitting of The Eastern Caribbean Youth Parliamentary Network Discusses Reforms for Global Climate Change Financing
- Dominique Williams
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The topic of the Resolution to be debated by the First Parliamentary Sitting of the Eastern Caribbean Youth Parliamentary Network could not have been more fitting as twelve delegates from Antigua and Barbuda arrived in the pouring rain at the RLB International Airport. Several miles out at sea, Tropical Storm Erin was intensifying into a Category Five Hurricane with unprecedented rapidity. The storm’s looming threat was a reminder that for small island states like ours, climate urgency is not an abstract debate but a lived reality.
The Eastern Caribbean Youth Parliamentary Network was launched to ensure that young voices are not sidelined in conversations about resilience and development. This was made clear in the resolution debated, which called for: “Stronger Regional Action Towards Environmental Resilience and Sustainable.” The motion was rooted in the recently unveiled St. Kitts Sustainable Island State Agenda (SISA) and the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), adopted earlier last year at the Fourth SIDS Conference. These frameworks provided the foundation for debate, while the very experience of gathering during a storm underscored their necessity.
For years, the Youth Parliament Associations of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKNYPA) and Antigua and Barbuda (NYPAAB) have maintained a strong partnership designed to amplify youth voices beyond borders. This collaboration laid the groundwork for ECYPN itself, signaling that regional youth advocacy cannot stop at national lines. Instead, it requires shared vision, coordination, and commitment to building a future shaped by the people who will inherit it. The ECPYN sets the precedent for a more integrated regional youth movement, hoping to inspire wider collaboration with youth NGO's in the Eastern Caribbean who share the same mandate of promoting youth civic engagement in nation-building.
On the floor of the House of Assembly, urgency permeated the debate. Speakers emphasized that climate disasters are not a matter of if but when for our islands, and that collaboration offers the only viable path forward. The Government benches argued for bold, collective action, while the Opposition pressed for clearer accountability mechanisms and timelines. Alongside the importance of accountability must be a realistic approach to ensure that excessive new layers of bureaucracy do not duplicate the work of existing regional agencies. What emerged from the debate was a recognition that collaboration must be practical, avoiding fragmentation while holding governments accountable to the promises they make.
Among the most critical policy issues raised was access to international financing. Global lending agencies often rely on narrow income-based classifications that mask the vulnerabilities of small island economies. St. Kitts and Nevis, for example, has a GDP per capita of USD $27,280, leading the World Bank to classify it as “high income.” But anyone living here knows the fragility behind that statistic: a heavy dependence on tourism means that shocks—whether border closures during COVID-19 or hurricanes wiping out infrastructure—can bring economic activity to a halt. The designation of our islands as high-income would be laughable if not for the grim realities that accompany this one-dimensional label, such as financial restrictions in a time of critical need.
This is where the UN’s Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) becomes vital. By incorporating a wider set of indicators, the MVI offers a more accurate picture of our economic realities and could unlock fairer access to debt-free financing. For the youth parliamentarians, advocating for the MVI is not just a technical fix; it is a moral imperative to ensure that Caribbean nations are not forced into false competition with one another for scarce resources. The MVI represents a tangible way in which regional collaboration can translate into a better quality of life for everyday citizens by advocating for justice in global systems united on the world stage.
The sitting also carried symbolic weight beyond the chamber. Delegates held courtesy calls with the Deputy Prime Minister, himself a founding member of SKNYPA and now Minister of Youth, and Senator Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development and the Environment. The delegates also met with Her Excellency Dame Marcella Liburd, Governor General of the Federation, the speaker of the House Ms. Lanein Blanchette, and Mrs. Natasha Grey-Brookes, Leader of the People's Action Movement. These meetings demonstrated recognition at the highest levels that youth perspectives matter in shaping national and regional agendas.
Founded two decades ago, SKNYPA is the oldest continuous youth parliament in the Eastern Caribbean, and its longevity has been built not only on debates but on service: from community outreach and volunteering to scholarships and mentorship programs. ECYPN draws on this legacy, positioning itself as a non-governmental, non-partisan forum that can scrutinize governments while also mobilizing young people as active contributors to development.
As one delegate opined, young people should not only be the “canaries in the coal mine” who warn of dangers ahead. We must also be the actors building solutions in real time. Many participants are already activists in their own communities, working daily to translate vision into tangible progress. The ECYPN is both a continuation of that work and a new platform for regional coordination, one committed to a vision of country above self.
The storm clouds that greeted the delegates’ arrival are a reminder of what is at stake. Just as Erin gathered force off our shores, the debates within the chamber gathered force around a shared conclusion: collaboration is not optional—it is survival. In coming together, the youth of the Eastern Caribbean have offered not just a bold new vision: one of country above self, where each endeavors and all achieve a more sustainable future.
