Life skills for a resilient future: insights from Curaçao and The Gambia
Two global initiatives—Ajay Bailey’s work in Curaçao and the collaborative project led by Tomohisa Miyamoto and Paul Schöpfer in The Gambia—offer valuable lessons in tailoring life skills development to specific contexts. These projects highlight the importance of innovative, context-based approaches to fostering resilience and wellbeing among young people. An inspiration for Dynamics of Youth's community Youth Education & Life Skills (YELS), which addresses youth challenges from diverse angles.
Curaçao: understanding and addressing inequalities
Ajay Bailey leads the project in Curaçao with Ashley Duits, Curaçao Biomedical & Health Research Institute (CBHRI) and Patricia Wijntuin (UU), co-creating inclusive imaginations for youth well-being and life skills rooted in the island’s socio-economic challenges. The research focuses on children aged 8 to 18 in diverse neighborhoods, addressing poverty, mental health, and family dynamics. Curaçao’s unique context compounds these challenges—a reliance on tourism, linguistic diversity, multiple epidemics, and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families and schools.
Collaboration is central to the project’s success. Partnering with the Roman Catholic School Board, which oversees most schools on the island, the team engages teachers, parents, and students to identify gaps in life skills education. Teachers, in particular, are seen as vital bridges between school and community, offering insights into how external pressures shape student behaviour and wellbeing.
To gather these insights, Ajay’s team employs creative tools like drawing and photo elicitation, followed by in-depth interviews. These methods help children articulate their experiences and pinpoint areas for growth. Teachers consistently highlight the need for skills like assertiveness, negotiation, and emotional regulation while addressing broader issues such as peer pressure and cultural identity. However, systemic barriers—such as a Dutch-dominated curriculum in a multilingual and multi-racial society—pose significant challenges to implementing these changes.
The ultimate aim is informed choices and wellbeing. Ajay, together with the school and the communities, envisions a future where life skills education is seamlessly embedded into school programs, supported by trained teachers, and backed by a committed school board. By building capacity within schools, the project seeks to create a lasting impact that transcends individual cohorts, fostering resilience across generations.
The Gambia: Embedding Life Skills into the Education System
In The Gambia, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) has taken the step of testing the integration of life skills and financial education into the curriculum framework. The project, led by Tomohisa (WUR), Paul Schöpfer (UU), Joost de Laat (WUR), and Thomas van Huizen (UU), aims to support the implementation of this framework by testing the efficacy of teacher professional development (TPD) and pedagogical training.
The initiative incorporates the Aflatoun International program, which focuses on life skills and financial education, and adapts it to Grade 5 students. In collaboration with Aflatoun International, ChildFund The Gambia, the ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ of The Gambia, and MoBSE, the project provides teacher training on active learning methods and embeds life skills into core subjects such as Math and Science to ensure scalability and everyday relevance.
The evaluation uses surveys and classroom observations to measure the impact of teacher training and curriculum changes on students’ life skills, such as problem-solving, communication, participation, and financial knowledge. Through these efforts, the project supports MoBSE in evaluating the effectiveness of integrating life skills and financial education into the national curriculum framework.
Shared goals, complementary strategies
While both projects aim to equip youth with essential life skills, their strategies differ significantly. In Curaçao, the emphasis is on co-creation and cultural adaptation, starting with the perspectives of students, teachers, and parents to build a program from the ground up. Conversely, the Gambian initiative adopts a policy-led approach to directly support the integration of life skills into the education system.
These contrasting methods underscore the importance of context. Curaçao’s creative exploration, teacher involvement, and empowerment focus respond to the island’s unique socio-cultural dynamics. Meanwhile, The Gambia’s structured, policy-driven model reflects a national push for systemic reform.
Toward a Resilient Future
Despite their differences, both projects demonstrate the transformative power of life skills education. By addressing challenges holistically and sustainably, they empower individuals and entire communities. Ajay’s work highlights the importance of understanding local complexities, while Tomohisa and Paul’s project showcases the value of scalable, research-driven solutions.
Together, these initiatives illustrate how interdisciplinary collaboration can drive meaningful change. Through the diverse efforts of the YELS community, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ continues to shape the future of youth education, equipping young people with the tools they need to navigate an ever-changing world.
This article was previously published in the magazine Our planet, our youth, our future!
This magazine, Our Planet, Our Youth, Our Future! explores the global connections between youth well-being, sustainability, and planetary health. By listening to and working alongside youth, researchers from Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ and UMC Utrecht seek to shape a more just, sustainable world. The magazine is a joint publication by Dynamics of Youth, UGlobe, and Child Health (UMC Utrecht).