ON MARCH 14, the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services in collaboration with the Youth department will launch the first in a series of youth listening tours across the Turks and Caicos Islands.
On Thursday (March 2), the subject minister, Hon. Josephine Connolly was joined by Director of the Youth Department Jasmine Parker and national youth council member, Ronley James to outline the government’s youth policy.
Minister Connolly noted that the main objective behind the tour is to give the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands a voice.
“We said we would do it within the first 100 days, and I have done it. Myself and the youth department are very enthusiastic about involving our youth in government policy and decisions that affect them.”
She assured that this initial tour will be the first in a number of initiatives to engage the local youth to ensure that they have a voice in the development of their country.
Within the next four months the team will be conducting youth listening tours, which will be both formal and informal around the islands, and according to the minister, the youth talk series will be instrumental in instigating programmes and policies.
The youth affairs director stated that another component of the tour is to establish the social issues in the country that youth are struggling with.
She said that there will be two official launch dates – the first will take place on March 14 at 4pm at the Gustarvus Sports Complex in Providenciales and the second one will take place on March 17 at the Helena Robinson high school auditorium in Grand Turk.
After the official launch ceremonies, the formal listening sessions will commence with groups such as Rotaract, Young Corporate Alliance, church youth groups and high school students.
The age group targeted is 12 to 29 years of age.
Parker said that they will also be hosting intimate listening sessions with about 30 or 50 youths so as to foster a better understanding of issues that affect youth in the country.
She said that there will also be a week of informal listening tours whereby the tour officials will go into communities in order to talk to youths who are hanging out on neighbourhood blocks, under trees, and on road corners to see what is happening with them.
She noted that the drive behind this particular part of the tour is to get an understanding of what is causing these young people to be hanging around the communities, so that the department and the government at large can put measures in place to cut down on this.
Parker also assured that the youth series will also take place in South and North Caicos, and that a detailed tour schedule with dates, time and locations will soon be made public.
At the end of the tour, the public will be made aware of the issues and initiatives that the government is hoping will come out of the tour.
That will be done by way of a public symposium, Parker said.
Youth councilor, Ronley James is therefore encouraging every young person in the designated age group to take part in the listening tour, as he said this is an ideal opportunity for the youth of the country to regain its voice.
