Leadership in action – 5th annual Youth Parliament to open soon
− 37 tertiary and 35 secondary school student to participate
− university students will act as mentors
DPI, Guyana, Monday, July 29, 2019
Since its re-establishment in 2015, the Youth Parliament has provided a platform for young people from Secondary and Tertiary institutions to express their opinions and present suggestions on matters affecting Guyana.
This year’s forum will see the participation of 35 secondary school students and 37 students from the University of Guyana’s Tain and Turkeyen campuses.
At a press conference today, Public Relations Officer at Parliament, Yannick December said the fifth annual Youth Parliament will be held from August 8-17, under the theme Our Generation, Our Voice to Inspire, Encourage, Impact’.
“This year, we thought it would be best to have more students from the university for several reasons. In particular, we would have widened the youth mentorship programme by allowing the university students to now become youth counsellors to the secondary school participants,” he explained.
December highlighted that among the topics to be debated by the secondary students, is the ban on the use of plastic, copyright laws, discipline in school, and curbing substance abuse. The tertiary students will discuss the use of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), our migration policy and youth participation in governance and amendment of Article 155 1(a) of Guyana’s Constitution.
The Youth Parliament, popular among Commonwealth nations, was first held in Guyana in 2000 and continued up until 2013. It was resuscitated in 2015 with support from the Ministry of Education.
This initiative is a tool to motivate team spirit among the youth by involving them in a parliamentary democracy, building self-confidence and leadership capability and promote public speaking. It also educates students on principles of a democratic constitution and helps them understand the mindset, dignity and skill required of those in such fora.
In previous years, there were representatives from the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) and the Ptolemy Reid Institute. According to December, this year will be no different.