National Youth Month begins

Several activities in recognition of the work done by the youth of this nation are among the highlights of the 2010 National Youth Month, which was officially launched Monday, September 27.{{more}}

This year’s activity is being celebrated under the theme ‘Building our future, making youth our pillars’.

Activities began yesterday with a national youth conference held in collaboration with the National Commission on Crime Prevention (NCCP) at the Methodist Church Hall.

Other planned activities include the launch of a ‘Youth on the Bloc’ report, an ecumenical youth church service and a series of radio programmes.

The month of activities will culminate with the National Youth Awards on October 28.

According to Philcol Jeffers, coordinator of Youth Month, the activities will coincide with the celebration of the year of the youth.

“This is to place more emphasis on youth and the work done by youth, and we here in St Vincent and the Grenadines are not being left out,” Jeffers said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Mobilization etc spoke of the significance of the event. She emphasised that it was a way of getting the youth involved in assisting adults in decision making activities.

“Young people need to be given that opportunity to work alongside the adults on our various communities to help shape the future of our country,” she said.

Junior Minister, Cecil McKie, while making some brief remarks at Monday’s press conference, said that young people were now being given the opportunity to be involved in decision making processes.

According to McKie, this was a clear indication that the youth of the nation do have something positive to contribute.

“This month of activities will allow us to focus in on youths in a special way,” he said.

“This year’s activity focuses in on a lot,” Carlos Williams, the Director of Youth Affairs, said.

He was also of the view that while there was no definite way to measure the impact of annual activities such as youth month, Williams said that the overall hope was that young people would strive to do better based on the actions of others.

“We have to depend on the multiplying effect of the good deeds of some of the youths,” he explained.

He further contended that there was a fall off among the youth involvement as there was an overall decline in community based organizations.

Williams, however, noted that shortly after the 2005 general elections, the youth department was mandated to reach out to the youth on the blocks, which they have been doing, using alternative methods, including working with church groups. (DD)