On International Day of Older Persons, which fell on a Thursday this year, the Barbados House of Assembly was temporarily transformed into the island’s National Youth Parliament, where young policymakers took the floor to debate a landmark Digital Transformation Resolution aimed at shaping the country’s digital future. The proposed resolution centers its framework on youth empowerment, expanded digital access, and accelerated technological innovation, laying out a slate of ambitious policy initiatives ranging from mandatory digital literacy and coding education starting in primary school to interactive student-facing school portals, community-led innovation hubs, a national youth tech pass, a nationwide cybersecurity public awareness campaign, and stronger cross-regional digital collaboration through CARICOM.
While the resolutions passed by the National Youth Parliament carry no formal legal weight unlike binding votes from the sitting House of Assembly, the body’s recommendations are widely recognized as influential in shaping mainstream policy conversations around youth-centered issues. During the debate, two opposition youth parliamentarians raised critical concerns about gaps in the draft text that threaten to marginalize vulnerable populations. Leader of Opposition Business Roshauna Clarke joined opposition member Kamalei Ferdinand-King to argue that the resolution’s narrow focus on youth empowerment overlooks the needs of older Barbadians and people living with disabilities, warning that an unplanned rush to a fully digital society could leave these vulnerable groups behind.
Clarke emphasized that she could not throw her support behind a proposal that fails to center inclusivity, noting that the resolution is framed as a national plan for digital transformation, not a youth-only initiative. “This resolution is titled ‘Digital Transformation Resolution’; it is not just titled about the youth. What about our old people? What about the disabled? We are living in a time where there are persons who cannot access things because of digital transformation. What about them?” she said. Beyond inclusivity concerns, Clarke also raised pointed questions about the proposal’s practical implementation, flagging unresolved legal, operational, and financial barriers that the draft text fails to address. She famously argued, “Vision without a viable execution is merely an illusion.”
Clarke specifically called out risks in the proposed Smart System Initiative and junior digital consultant roles, noting that unvetted access to sensitive government data for minors creates unnecessary security risks. In place of these unstructured proposals, she put forward an alternative plan: a formal, closely supervised Information and Communications Technology (ICT) apprenticeship program anchored in academic systems overseen by the Ministry of Education Transformation, with strict role-based access controls to protect sensitive data. She also recommended the creation of a dedicated Digital Transformation Delivery Secretariat housed within the Prime Minister’s Office, arguing that splitting oversight across multiple separate ministries would create bureaucratic gridlock and administrative inefficiencies. “Instead of placing these operational infrastructure burdens on students, we must establish a structured, supervised ICT apprenticeship under the Occupational Training Act,” she stated.
For his part, Ferdinand-King centered his remarks on a growing but underdiscussed threat to digital safety: cybersecurity fatigue among the general public, as more daily activities and government services move online. “One of the biggest issues when it comes to this digital transformation era is digital security. But one thing we have yet to speak about is the fatigue when it comes to cybersecurity,” he explained, acknowledging that even technologically engaged young people like himself often fall into risky digital habits – including reusing passwords across multiple accounts. He also criticized the overly long, jargon-heavy terms of agreements that users are required to accept to access most online services, calling for simplified, condensed formats that highlight key policy points for ordinary users. “Make it [specific] and show the important points that we are agreeing to. Show us what we need to see so that we understand what we are applicable to and what we aren’t,” he said.
Ferdinand-King proposed an innovative public awareness strategy: integrating short, interactive cybersecurity knowledge checks into government-provided public Wi-Fi networks, which users complete when accessing the service. He noted that whether users answer correctly or incorrectly, the simple act of engaging with the prompts will build baseline awareness even for people with little prior digital knowledge or limited interest in cybersecurity. He added that this approach would be particularly beneficial for older Barbadians who regularly visit the capital Bridgetown and use public networks there. “It would be helpful to them especially, because they will be forced to see it,” he said. Ferdinand-King stressed that as more personal data and essential services move online, digital security cannot remain a niche concern; it must become a part of everyday public consciousness, noting that “Being online is risky, but being offline is even riskier.”
The original resolution already includes a call for a national cybersecurity awareness campaign focused on digital safety, personal data protection, and identifying online misinformation, alongside a call for deeper regional collaboration through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The National Youth Parliament, run through the Youth Development Programme under the Division of Youth Affairs, was created to give young Barbadians hands-on experience with parliamentary procedure and policymaking. This year’s sitting was a core event of National Youth Week, carried out under the official subtheme “Youth Today, Leaders Tomorrow!” The week-long initiative, which centers on analyzing pressing national issues and putting forward youth-led policy recommendations, will continue through November 26.