Involve more youth in decision-making

The appeal came from Nikoli Edwards, Vice Chairperson - Policy, Advocacy and Projects, Commonwealth Youth Programme, as he delivered the keynote address a the start of the Trinidad and Tobago Youth Convention at the Centre of excellence, Macoya, yesterday. The convention was organised by the Commonwealth Youth Programme, Tobago Youth Council and Trinidad Youth Council.

“How can you make decisions when you not have the majority of stakeholders properly represented,” Edwards queried. Joining labour’s call that at least one young person should be appointed on every State board in TT, Edwards said he was offended that only one young person was represented on the Government Assisted Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme’s Task Force to review the programme.

On the issue of crime and security, he said that young people were the greatest perpetrators of crime in today’s society, and were also the largest grouping of victims of crime and violence.

Government can recruit more police officers, put more police vehicles on the road, give police officers more guns but they would not get the solutions they are looking for if they do not engage young people and put them in charge of finding solutions for the issues facing them.

Touching on youth and education, Edwards said, it was not simply about GATE and tertiary education, but also about non-traditional education. Noting that not everyone has the capacity to take in a tertiary education for three years or more, Edwards said that for those who work with their hands, excel at sports, designing, culture and the arts, provision should be made for them to succeed and to not be seen as second class to those with a bachelor’s, master’s or a doctorate.

“Some of the most brilliant minds never went to university.

What you have on paper does not determine who you are as an individual,” he said.

Commenting on the issue of employment, he noted that hundreds of people are losing their jobs, and that calls for a rethinking of how to approach the job market. Government, he said, needs to cut down on the bureaucracy to make it easier to establish a non-governmental organisation or a business, especially for young people. “It should be a lot less headache for young people who want to make an honest dollar,” he said.

Edwards said that the convention was meant to bring together young people who have something to offer society and who believe they have solutions to many of the problems facing the nation. The convention report, Edwards said, will detail concerns, queries and suggestions, and will be made public.

Copies will be given to Government and the private sector, he said. He urged that young people do not wait on the authorities to implement their ideas, but mobilise and come together to take advantage of available opportunities.

Meanwhile from comments made at the same forum by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, Joan Mendez, that Ministry is optimistic that in the next fiscal year some projects will be come to fruition including the establishment of the national youth council and a youth leadership development institute, who delivered remarks on behalf of her Minister at the event.

Noting that the current fiscal year has been challenging because of the economic situation, Mendez said, “We have impressed upon the Ministry of Finance the rationale and purpose of our MPI (Multidimensional Poverty Index) goals which is to help marginalised and at-risk communities. We hope we get adequate funding to assist our various youth organisations.