Prime Minister Bruce Golding is expected to give the opening address at the first forum of government ministers with responsi-bility for social development in the Caribbean scheduled to get under way today at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

The meeting is dubbed 'First Forum of Ministers of Social Development for the Caribbean', and the theme is 'Social Development Strategies for the Caribbean Youth in the Context of the Economic Crisis'.

According to a release issued by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the focus is on youth because of the importance of its young people to the future of the Caribbean and the significant size of the region's youth population.

The decision to hold the forum came after discussions held between Olivia Grange, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, and Pierre Sane, assistant director general for social and human sciences at the 35th General Conference of UNESCO in Paris in October 2009.