The Division of Youth in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MYSC) launched its 16-week Youth Leaders Certification Programme for its 2026 cohort on January 27 and is moving full-speed ahead  with dynamic presenters each week, as the professional volunteers dive into topical issues and strategize effective programmes to equip today’s youth.

Classes are held at the COLLAB Centre every Tuesday evening.

Over a three hour-long training session each week, participants will delve into areas such as Adolescent Development, Positive Youth Development, Adolescent Development, Ethical and Cultural Issues in Counselling, Effective Communication, Dealing with Child Abuse, Embracing AI and Technology, Coping with Stress and Mediating and Resolving Conflict.

On February 24, 2026, MYSC Assistant Director of Youth Rashard Ritchie held an engaging session with the participants on Designing a Research-Based Youth Programme.

The objective of the module is to help youth leaders discover effective programmes in addressing the issues affecting young people.

“Currently, in the youth development landscape, one of the challenges we have is that we have youth leaders who often have their own biases, who often assume the issues affecting young people,” Ritchie said.

“So, tonight is an opportunity to break those barriers and help them to understand how to design a research-based youth development programme; something that is based on facts and research and not being afraid to go with what the information and data is saying.”

The participants also tackled how to conduct research, evaluations, and communication methods.