By Makeira Tucker 

Journal Staff Writer 

The government knows that young people will be the ones to take The Bahamas forward,  so several initiatives have been launched to allow them to succeed. The Young Innovators Club is one of those initiatives and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in collaboration with the Ministry for Grand Bahama launched the pilot for the Young Innovators Club at the Margaritaville Resort on Thursday morning. 

The Young Innovators Club is an initiative that focuses on giving students opportunities to develop practical solutions through technology, entrepreneurship, environmental innovation and in other modern fields. 

 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Chester Cooper said, “It is an exciting initiative. We are nurturing innovators for today and for the future.” 

The program is for young people between the ages of 15 to 25 in an effort to teach problem-solving skills by not just identifying an issue but to start building real solutions for their schools and communities. 

“We’re not creating innovators for tomorrow. We’re not asking them what they want to do when they grow up, we’re asking them what they want to build right now,” Cooper said. 

The five pillars of the initiative include technology, environment, entrepreneurship, arts and heritage and maritime innovation. 

The program was already launched in Grand Bahama and will be extended to other family islands like Cat Island, Bimini, Andros, Eleuthera, Abaco, and Exuma.   

“We are pushing all across the country,” Cooper said. 

Prime Minister Philip Davis who believes that the greatest investment is in young people and that the future of The Bahamas is shaped by their creativity said, “It is our government’s duty to empower youth by offering opportunities and support they need to foster their ideas,” Davis said. 

He believes that the Young Innovators Club creates a space that encourages curiosity and challenges them to ask why and what if.   

Davis also urged young people not to underestimate the value of their ideas. 

“You don’t need all the answers now. You don’t need the perfect idea now. All you need is enough curiosity to ask the questions, the willingness to learn and the courage to try,” Davis explained.

The New Providence schools involved are C.R. Walker, Government High, Windsor Upper School, Aquinas College and Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

More than $50,000 in prize money is available for the top three teams. 

The government has also begun intergrading some of the innovation topics into the educational system as well, Cooper explained. 

“We have many of these initiatives in our curriculum already. C.R. Walker for example they have a fantastic environmental club,” Cooper added. 

“They’ve been talking with the Prime Minister about how their work at the environmental club tie into his international advocacy. I was very impressed by that,” he continued. 

The minister also acknowledges that the country currently has a very vast and successful Maritime Industry.