St. Maarten’s youth are ready to lead, Arrindell tells UNESCO

UZBEKISTAN--St. Maarten’s Minister Plenipotentiary Drs. Gracita Arrindell told the 43rd General Conference of UNESCO that the country’s young people are ready to lead, citing new systems that embed youth perspectives in government, expand AI and STEAM pathways, and connect schools to global networks. “Mr. President, our young people are ready to lead,” Arrindell said, outlining a National Youth Mainstreaming Strategy, evidence tools, and inter-ministerial coordination to place youth at the center of policy.

Arrindell explained that the National Youth Mainstreaming Strategy and Action Plan uses the St. Maarten Youth Monitor to anchor data driven planning across ministries, ties policy choices to intergenerational equity, and strengthens collaboration so that youth voices shape decisions. In 2025, three high schools joined the UNESCO Associated Schools Network, giving students structured ways to engage global and societal issues.

She detailed AI and STEAM initiatives in schools, led by the Division for Education Innovation and the St. Maarten National Commission for UNESCO. A Memorandum of Understanding with the St. Maarten Science Fair Foundation, the St. Kitts and Nevis Robotics Association, and the OECS Robotics Association will establish a Robotics Unit, host an annual STEAM camp, launch a youth leadership program, and prepare students for the FIRST Global Robotics Olympics. Recalling the national AI and STEAM conference for nearly 200 teachers, Arrindell quoted Minister Melissa D. Gumbs’ message to educators, “To reimagine teaching, we must also reimagine ourselves.”

Arrindell reported that St. Maarten adopted the Higher Education and Research Ordinance, creating a national framework for quality assurance, transparency, and international accreditation that safeguards students and institutions, strengthens accountability, and supports mobility.

On culture and creative rights, St. Maarten reaffirmed its national mantra, “Culturize before you digitize.” Since MONDIACULT 2022 and reaffirmed at MONDIACULT 2025, the Department of Culture, the Bureau of Intellectual Property, and the St. Maarten Artists Guild have expanded copyright education and community training, while calling for stronger global frameworks so that AI amplifies Caribbean creativity, not appropriates it.

Disaster risk and heritage protection featured prominently. St. Maarten hosted the inaugural conference of the Caribbean Cultural Emergency Response Sub-Hub, strengthening regional capacity for heritage safeguarding and rapid response. The country also advanced work toward a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve nomination, with community consultations and zonation aligned to the Seville Strategy and Madrid Action Plan.

The delegation expressed support for UNESCO’s work on AI ethics, media literacy, and information integrity, and noted that St. Maarten hosted the MOWLAC regional meeting in 2024 with support from the Documentary Heritage Unit and the Japanese Funds-in-Trust Program. The statement opened with solidarity for Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and other islands affected by Hurricane Melissa.

Arrindell closed by urging partners to ensure that technology uplifts rather than erases, that science preserves rather than consumes, and that education and culture remain central to human progress. “Let us digitize with dignity, educate with equity, govern with integrity, and empower youth with purpose,” the Minister Plenipotentiary said.

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