The newly inaugurated executive of the National Youth Council of Dominica has been challenged to be more visible and active at the community level.
This call came from member of parliament for the Roseau South Constituency
Chekira Lockhart-Hypolite represented the Minister for Youth Affairs at the official inauguration ceremony of the NYCD held recently, under the theme ‘Creating the vision, effecting the change.”
The newly-inaugurated body consists of President Ashma McDougall, 1st Vice President Pheal Lander, 2nd Vice President Jorjanna Albert, Treasurer Luana Laurent, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Annia Peters, Executive Committee Member Courtney McDonald, Chairperson of the General Assembly Ashfred Norris, Differently Abled Representative Loik Charles, Student Representative Nia Belle, and Khahil Richards and Kalinago Representative Adicia Burton.
Lockhart informed the 13-man council of the importance of reaching out to the younger persons on the island and reminding them of their importance in national youth matters.
“I would like to appeal to you to reach out to the rural youth…you need to build a solid foundation. You need to let your vision be far-reaching not just among yourselves but to the youth needing support from those who feel that society has nothing much to offer,” she stated.
Lockhart-Hypolite commended the new team for their interest in male block culture and encouraged the members to never limit themselves within their two-year tenure.
“I appeal to you to go out and meet the youth on the block to build hope and a sense of belonging among those who feel hopeless. Let your activities as a new executive cut across all sectors in building and developing the youth to become independent and engage the youth with programs that will promote hard work and excellence,” Lockhart-Hypolite advised.
Chief Youth Development Officer, John Roach, also addressed the ceremony and called for the installation of a national youth parliament for Dominica.
According to Roach, “It does not matter how many programs we put in place or opportunities that we create for the youth, if we do not have the participation of the youth in the development and planning process we are wasting time and resources.”
To get a full understanding of the impact of issues as it pertains to the lives of the youth, he stressed that they must be fully engaged in the decision-making process at all levels. Roach believes that the installation of a youth parliament is an integral element of the constitution of the National Youth Council of Dominica where the young people can participate in shaping the social and political landscape that they envision.
Year in, year out, NYC changes. But year in year out, the youth have less and less options. What power does this counil really have? Does it have any lobbying strength? It should. In Roseau itself, there is no sports facilities that are open and available to all youth. The Library relocated to Kennedy Avenue, but there is NO move to rehabilitate the rightful Roseau Library. Jobs are scarce when they leave state college. Our young boys continue a downward spiral. I definitely agree that they do have challenges. As young adults with voting power, They need to begin to lobby for the betterment of the youth.