The Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) to be staged in Suriname from August 25 next, is expected to be a key agenda item and ministers and officials at the meeting will be updated on plans for the major regional event, being held as the Community celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The delegates will also have an opportunity to visit the CARIFETA sites, a release from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat stated.

The COSHOD meeting is being held under the theme `Meeting the Challenges of Human and Social Development through Culture, Youth and Sport'.

The opening session will be presided over by Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development in CARICOM, Dr. Edward Greene, while the feature address will be delivered by CARICOM Head of Government with lead responsibility for culture, gender, youth and sport, President Runaldo Venetiaan of Suriname.

Suriname's Minister of Education, Community Development and Culture and Chairman of COHSOD Walter Sandriman, will make the opening remarks.

According to the release, one of the major events of the year-long celebration by CARICOM has been incorporated into the meeting.

To this end, Minister of Education and Culture in Jamaica, Maxine Henry Wilson will deliver the third in the Distinguished Lecture Series. Her topic is `The Future of Human Resource Management in the Caribbean'.

The secretariat said a number of special matters will also come up for consideration, including the establishment of the Caribbean Health Education Accreditation Board (CHEAB) - a presentation by the University of the West Indies; the 30th anniversary of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC); health sector development; human resource development of environmental health professionals in CARICOM; HIV/AIDS and the establishment of a Regional Violence and Injury Surveillance System.

In the area of culture and development, presentations will be made by Dr. Keith Nurse of UWI - a leading expert in the field on Cultural Products and Economic Development in the Caribbean and a Regional Programme for Cultural Industry Development.

The presentations will focus on the nature, value and economic impact of cultural and creative industries in the Caribbean, while issues pertaining to a CARICOM Foundation for Art and Culture and recent initiatives in culture undertaken by UNESCO, will also be discussed.

With respect to youth, COHSOD will receive a number of reports on an integrated approach to youth development, and human and social development through sport.

In this regard, issues relating to the development of a collaborative youth agenda; priorities in the Caribbean Youth Ambassadors' Programme and best practices in sports and development will be discussed.

A special presentation on the Economics of Youth Development Strategies for the Caribbean will also be made by the World Bank, with which CARICOM has been collaborating in the area of youth.