The Caribbean region and its Diaspora, and Jamaicans in particular, are beyond themselves with pride and excitement at the performance of the region’s athletes at the current Beijing Olympics. Congrats to all the athletes from the region who have excelled so far at the Olympics.

It is fitting that our Caribbean athletes are excelling at this time, not just because of the thrill in seeing our fellow country men and women on the winning podium and hearing our national anthems play as they collect their gold medals, but because of the vast potential that sports have for social and economic development in these developing countries, which many of us call home. We, and the regional leaders, have grown accustomed to wringing our hands in despair trying to figure out how to deal with the problems related to limited opportunity for the region’s youth and the often related problem of rising crime.

The time has long past when the sole objective of grooming the region’s youth was just to win medals at international meets like the Olympics. Today, as we are seeing, sports can be used as a very significant tool for providing them with goals that they realistically benefit from economically and pull them up the ladder of the society. Several of the Jamaican athletes currently excelling in Beijing are from very humble rural and inner city backgrounds. Unlike most American athletes and some of their Caribbean peers, some of the athletes winning medals in Beijing never had the opportunity of getting athletic scholarships that took them to colleges in the US, where they benefited from specialized, professional training programs. Rather, they have raw talent which the relevant sporting authorities recognized and assisted in developing.

This development is, however, not limited to sports. It can also expand to the involvement of cultural pursuits. It is really fitting that the success and the showcasing of Jamaica’s athletic prowess at the Olympics is following on the heels of the much heralded performance by another cadre of Jamaican youth in the recent festivities associated with the celebration of its 46th year of independence. Perhaps, unbeknownst to the Jamaica government right before their eyes over the past two weeks are solutions to the socio-economic problems that are crippling the youth from the rural areas and inner cities.

Sports and culture can be effectively managed and mobilized to result in significant community development throughout the Caribbean region.

It is important that governments in the region pay dedicated attention to coordinating the developing of the cultural talent of the youth. Steps must be taken to develop these talents into community and national theaters where the youth perform for community and national recognition, and economic gain. Performances in the arts can also be a significant facet of the region’s tourism development, providing a much better coordinated and varied source of attraction and entertainment for foreign visitors, with more local talent performing professionally.

The Olympics has shown what can be achieved in sports. The concentration given to the region’s youth in athletics must now be enhanced. There are talented youth in athletics, cricket, football (soccer), and other sports all over the region. Many of them lack the resources for their own development, but community and national development programs can encourage more of our athletes to perform wonders on the world stage. Moreover, there is much more work to be done in sports like swimming and long distance athletic events.

Participation in national, regional and international sporting activities provides channels for the youth to focus their energies on excelling in a variety of sports. As they excel they will have very strong opportunities to secure financially rewarding endorsement contracts from national and international businesses.

The opportunities for successful achievement by the region’s sports men and sports women, serve as strong motivation for the residents of the communities from which they originate. Look at the sense of pride resonating with the residents of the rural community of Sherwood Content in Trelawny and the inner city community of Waterhouse in St. Andrew, Jamaica, communities from which Olympic 100 meters champions Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Frazer originated. Every youth from these communities now believe that anything positive that they set out to achieve is possible.

It is time for the region’s governments to take creative measures to focus on the development of the youth.