A government initiative aimed at strengthening how community leaders engage with Generation Z is being expanded, as Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands urged adults to adopt new approaches that truly connect with today’s young people.
In brief remarks at Tuesday’s Forum of Ideas for Youth Mentorship Village Builders breakfast meeting, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, she explained how Village Builders helps older people to better understand and relate to today’s youth.
“Village Builders is about teaching community workers, church workers, student give-back persons, how to engage the Gen Zs… how to relate to the young people of today,” Husbands said. She stressed that the programme moves away from traditional, directive approaches.
“It’s not about talking at them and telling them what they can do and what they cannot do. You have to hook and engage.”
According to the minister, the programme emphasises innovative teaching methods that resonate with young people and create meaningful learning experiences. Participants are trained in the use of play-based and project-based learning techniques, designed to make interactions with youth more stimulating and motivating.
“In Village Builders, they’re taught how to use play-based learning, project-based learning, in order to have a stimulating and motivating experience for them,” Husbands said.
“The focus is not on the outcome of the activity, the focus is on the emotional and social behaviours that they use to do the activity,” she explained. These approaches, she said, help to nurture young people by building values and behaviours that support their overall development.
Husbands also announced that another iteration of the Village Builders programme is set to begin in February and encouraged interested individuals to register early.
She added that the programme plays a critical role in helping adults learn how to connect with the current generation of young people in Barbados, ensuring that mentorship and youth engagement efforts remain relevant and impactful.
(SB)
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