PM Douglas praises Youth Parliament

By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE St. Kitts National Youth Parliament (SKNYPA) received much approbation from the Prime Minister of St. Kitts-Nevis, the Hon Dr. Denzil Douglas, in a statement made to the Commemorative Youth Parliament on Thursday, September 25.

Speaker of the National Assembly for SKNYPA, Crios Freeman, on behalf of PM Douglas, applauded SKNYPA for convening the commemorative sitting in recognition of the 25th Independence Anniversary of the Federation and highlighted the significant role the organisation has played in youth development.

“In my estimation, the Youth Parliament has served as a key training ground for you, the leaders of tomorrow. Certainly, as responsible young people, you have been excellent role models, and I can only urge you to stay the course and to be of positive influential value to the young people in this country.

“Your stint as youth Parliamentarians must have provided the opportunity to examine some of the critical issues that impact our nation. Issues such as youth violence, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, environmental challenges and poverty alleviation would have provided vital information that would shape your perspective on these matters. Beyond such matters, however, is the fact that your participation helps to strengthen our democracy. It helps to define the youth agenda in this country, and I believe that you are an important part of positive change in this country.”  ~~Adz:Right~~

Dr. Douglas stressed that as young people, it is important to reflect on what it means to be Independent and opined that “one cannot separate our history and our struggles from who we are as a people”. He further stated that one needs to understand the political, social and economic circumstance of the country’s past to understand where it needs to go, and the relevance of certain actions in the quest of nation building.

SKNYPA, during its seven-year existence, has grown to 20 members and has undertaken many national projects including a National Symposium on Crime and Violence, partnering with the St. Kitts Turtle Monitoring Network for turtle monitoring at Keys’ Beach, and the simplifying of the Constitutional Rights Document. Moreover, they have also debated issues of major concern in relation to the Environment, the Seatbelt Law, the Education Green Paper, and Mental Health.

The Prime Minister urged the young debaters to serve the country with honour in whatever their sphere of activity, and to encourage others to be positive and productive while maintaining the nation’s motto, “Country Above Self”.