According to the UNESCO Youth PATH Project Coordinator, Ms. Mutryce A. Williams, plans for the implementation of the UNESCO Youth PATH initiative are progressing smoothly. Ms. Williams informed that she has been working with the Youth PATH National Advisory Committee to ensure that Youth PATH in St. Kitts and Nevis is a success.
Ms. Williams said that the Committee, which comprises of several stakeholders and experts in the areas of heritage and tourism, has met and discussed the possibility of proposed heritage sites in St. Kitts and Nevis. She said that the Youth PATH National Advisory Committee has proposed CAPISTERRE, St. Kitts as the targeted site for the Youth PATH project in St. Kitts. This area comprises the Belmont Estate in St. Paul's and the Black Rocks, around which the Youth PATH project would be focused. The proposed site in Nevis is the Nevisian Heritage Village at Fothergill's Estate. The Nevis Heritage Village depicts the evolution of Nevisian social history through housing.
Ms. Williams informed that although the Committee has proposed these sites, that Youth PATH is a national initiative. She said that public consultation and feedback is vital, not only to the selection of the site but also to the success of the project. She informed that the Committee is soliciting the public's input on the selection of the site.
This may be done by completing a brief survey at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority at the Pelican Mall, St. Christopher Heritage Society located in the Old Treasury building or the Ministry of Education on Church Street Basseterre. The general public may also submit emails to youthpathskn@yahoo.com.
Youth PATH is a program designed to assist disadvantaged young persons ages 15-25 to optimize economic opportunities, create socio-economic empowerment, and enhance the value of sustainable heritage tourism sites. Young persons in poor communities of the Caribbean are trained in the development and documentation of natural and cultural heritage sites in order for these sites to become centres of internal or international tourism and in so doing, develop entrepreneurial skills for income generation.
