Public Policy for Youth Development Unveiled by Government

On Friday, Dominican President Leonel Fernández launched the Public Policy Plan for Youth Development 2008-2015, a government initiative meant to guarantee the rights of this segment of the population in terms of education, health, employment, culture, sports and social participation.

The government official added that in terms of education, the plan is to massively distribute the General Law of Youth to high school students…

The new program was introduced by the Minister of Youth Manuel Crespo who explained that the plan is result of an arduous, open and democratic effort in which hundreds of government and non-governmental organizations participated through consultations and meetings held throughout the country.

The plan seeks to assure Dominican youth access to high quality and comprehensive education while taking into account issues that need to be dealt with such as sexual health, gender equality, violence, discrimination and the right to fully participate in the country’s civil and political activities, according to the Presidential Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

The government official added that in terms of education, the plan is to massively distribute the General Law of Youth to high school students and to guarantee that teens who become pregnant in high school can remain in school and continue their studies in ways they find convenient for their lives. 

Crespo indicated that these initiatives seek to provide young people with rights to comprehensive and high quality health coverage, placing emphasis on prevention and sexual and reproductive rights.

“the seed of progress has been planted among the youth.”

In announcing the main measures at the ceremony, Crespo added that under the government administrations of President  Fernández, Dominican young people have experienced substantial progress and that “the seed of progress has been planted among the youth.”

The Minister of Youth noted that the National Public Policy Plan for the Development of Dominican Youth faces challenges that, without a doubt, will create a base upon which the country can ultimately rely on its responsible young people.

Gilka Meléndez, representative of the United Nations Population Fund, also spoke at the ceremony. She said the document was formulated in a coherent, pertinent and efficient manner and that it took into account the real needs and problems of young people. Ms. Meléndez, who supported the creation of the program, stressed the deep interest that President Fernández has shown for the issues facing the country’s youth that encompasses some 2.9 million young people. 

The presentation ceremony took place in the Conference Hall of the Foreign Ministry. Also present was Dominican First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández; Humberto Salazar, Director of the President’s Council on AIDS and Paul Giovanni, Vice-President of the Latin American Organization of Youth, among other people.