NWNJ Group Shot with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman.
“Do the right thing” is the message that came through loud and clear during the Caribbean-wide “No Witness, No Justice” Youth Network Conference hosted by the United States Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados from December 6 to 7 2012. The project was funded through the Caribbean Basin Security initiative (CBSI), a commitment between the United States and the nations of the Caribbean in developing joint responses in combating the drug trade and other transnational crimes.
The U.S. Embassy partnered with the National L.E.A.D. Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides programs targeting “at-risk” young males who are currently attending high school as well as former inmates upon completion of their sentence. Four L.E.A.D Cadets – Jamal A. Evans, Johnathan Armbrister, Denzel A. Carroll, and Andrew Cash – as well as members of the organization’s leadership team traveled to Barbados where they joined dozens of secondary school students from ten different Caribbean countries. The unique leadership experience allowed to the students to gain new insights on the judicial process and effectively leverage social media to encourage young people in their communities to stand up to negative peer pressure.
In the “No Witness, No Justice” Youth Network module room, students equipped with Embassy-donated iPads, practiced taking effective photos, making compelling videos and using social media to encourage witness participation. The students even donned black robes and took on the role as legal representatives in two mock trials that allowed them to put what they had learned into practice.
When the students returned to The Bahamas, they had the opportunity to share insights from their time in Barbados with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman. Johnathan Armbrister, who presided over the mock trials as the Chief Justice, told the Chargé that he had a very difficult to weighing the evidence given by each side, which allowed him to understand the important role that witnesses play in helping a judge decide on a case. National L.E.A.D Institute founder, Troy Clarke, also spoke highly of the experience and shared plans to help expand the “No Witness, No Justice” Youth Network in The Bahamas.
