Some 72 persons, including students from each administrative region in Guyana, are expected to participate in the 4th Annual Youth Parliament, set for staging from August 10 to August 18.
A scene from 2017 Youth Parliament debate
The Parliament Office on Tuesday announced that three students from each administrative region would be selected to represent their region, but Region 4 will be sending 4 students on its behalf.
The nine-day event, which would include training days, is expected to see two days of heated debate. The students will be debating motions on topical matters, with the most important motion to be presented on Oil and Gas and how it can benefit Guyanese.
Former Youth Parliamentarian Travis Bruce, who participated in the first ever Youth Parliament in 2015, will, along with his organisation, be conducting a session on the role of Guyanese youths in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to Bruce, his experience has developed him as a person, something he cannot wait for this year’s participants to experience.“As it relates to my participation in previous years, I would’ve been very much impressed with the way things were organised and executed. The first year, I remember being a little in shallow water, I wasn’t sure what to expect; but at the end of it, I was empowered to do so much more, not only in my school, but also in the community level. So I think that this year is actually much better, and I believe that the young people that are coming would not only be exposed to decorum and the etiquette that should be observed in the house, but they will also be exposed to meeting new people and having new opportunities,” the youth reflected.
Parliament’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yannick December noted that this year’s event is expected to be bigger and much better than the previous years’.
“This year is going to be bigger and better. We’ve put a lot of planning into this, and we would like to encourage every one of you to follow us on our live streaming to see what it will be like. On our website, there is a tab that states live streams, so you can go follow the tabs. I’ll also ensure that I have the live stream link placed on our Facebook page, to make it easier,” the PRO encouraged.
In addition, Principal Assistant Secretary of Finance, Vanessa Paul, highlighted that to conclude this year’s Youth Parliament, a grand reception will be held at which the participants will be pinned by current Parliamentarians.
“The dinner and reception is scheduled for the 16th of August, and at the reception, the event will be focused on honouring our youth parliamentarians, with one of the main features being the pinning of the Youth by our current parliamentarians,” she explained.
In excess of $5M was spent for the event last year. However, even though the figure was not disclosed, this year’s event is expected to be much costlier.
