… 40 students to participate in the crafting of national policies
Ever since the establishment of Youth Parliament in 2015, students from across the country are given the chance to voice their opinions and present proposals on
Parliament’s Clerk of Committees Jocette Bacchus joined by acting PRO Yannick December at the launch of the 3rd Youth Parliament
matters affecting the country.
The annual event presents an opportunity for Guyanese youth to be involved in national decision and policymaking, while increasing their capacities in areas such as leadership, democracy and elocution.
The Youth Parliament Committee on Thursday launched its third annual sitting of the national youth debate which is set to be staged from August 6 to 12.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s assembly was the Clerk of Youth Parliament Committee, Jocette Bacchus, who presented an outline of Youth Parliament, over the years. During her address, she also zoomed in on the overview of what is to be expected at this year sitting.
On that note, Bacchus outlined, “This year we will be having 40 participants from the nine regions and we would have opened it to private schools as well as public schools. The students will arrive on Sunday and they will go through some amount of training and will have an opportunity to interact with members of Parliament; some will be making presentations to the students. On Thursday, the 10th of August, that will be the sitting.”
Moreover, the Clerk of the Committee went on to say that this year’s deliberation
Eden Corbin, Assistant Youth Coordinator and pervious participant
will address a wider range of topics, with special emphasis on those which will have a direct impact on the nation’s youth.
As such, the motions selected for this year’s debates include the Guyana/Venezuela boarder controversy, the prevention of suicide, the proposed cap on CSEC subjects as well as matters relating to the budding oil and gas industry.
Also speaking at the launch on Thursday was the Assistant Youth Coordinator of Youth Parliament, Eden Corbin, who is also a past participant of the national youth debate.
Corbin revisited the moments of his participation in the National Youth Parliament and thereby highlighted the impacts this experience can have on the life of the students.
Acknowledging the accomplishments of the initiative based on his personal experience, the former youth parliamentarian relayed, “It has more or less been able to direct me in my career path.”
Corbin, who is now the first Guyanese Chairperson of the International Affairs Committee attached to the Guild of the University of West Indies, St Augustine Campus, went on to say that, “The only way I was able to take that stepping stone was through Youth Parliament. I always had the passion but Youth Parliament was able to sharpen my sight and provide me with a clear directive on what I really want to do.”
The National Youth Parliament was commissioned under the tenure of the then Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman and has since provided an opportunity for young and emerging leaders to commence their journey in having a footprint in promoting democracy and proposing a number of national policies to take effect in Guyana. The recommendations presented during the deliberations will eventually make its way to the members of the National Assembly; thereby planting seeds for much need change, taking into consider the perspective of the younger generation.
The 3rd annual Nation Youth Parliament which will commence in the coming week will see the participation from 40 students from nine of the 10 administrative regions of Guyana, with the only exclusion being Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
