Over 200 youth converged at the Knutsford Court Hotel as the 2010 Yute X conference, staged by the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), swung into action on November 24, 2010.

UNICEF Jamaica Goodwill ambassador and Yute X Patron Shelly-Ann Fraser opened the conference. “Speak up – this is the only way that real change is going to come about,” she urged the young people. “Use these three days to tell your story and share your views.”

“We despise the notion that youth must be silent,” said Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports in her remarks. “We are giving voice to youth. They make up the largest block of creative energies.”

UNICEF Representative Robert Fuderich commended the JYAN on “the massive and impressive effort to provide Jamaica’s youth with a platform to communicate, participate and move into action.”

Dr. Karen Hilliard, Mission Director of USAID, charged the government and private sector to do more for youth, reminding the audience that “youth must be seen as assets, not as burdens.”

Professor Verene Shepherd in her keynote address, underscored the importance of history education for youth. “Leaders are presiding over an era that is denying the truth to the youth,” she said. “This is a plea for all present to become advocates and lobby policy-makers to ensure the history and heritage of the country are instilled in the formal education of young people.”