86 young people are participating in the ‘Youth Parliament’ which commenced Friday, August 13 and will conclude on Thursday August 18. The Youth Parliament, which is in its 7th Year, will see participants being trained in parliamentary etiquette and decorum, the role of members of parliament, the art of public speaking, and the branches of government, among others.
40 of participants are in the junior category and 46 are in the senior category. The junior participants are from secondary schools across the 11 education districts. Participants are placed into government and opposition categories, reportedly through random selection.
This year’s Prime Minister in the junior category is 13-year-old Reginald Brown, who is also the youngest parliamentarian ever. The Leader of the Opposition in the junior category is Athea Allicock.
In the senior category, the Leader of the Opposition is Malaika Russell and the Prime Minister is Delroy Marks.
The forum will have four sittings on Wednesday and Thursday. The morning sittings will be dedicated to the secondary school participants and the afternoon sittings will be dedicated to the tertiary and other participants in the senior category.
Some of the skills the participants will learn are parliamentary laws and parliamentary procedures, debating skills, and language experience, among others.
Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hudson, said that the participants are set to benefit from several skills that will have meaningful impact on their lives, and he trusts that as they engage “they will be edified and so when that time comes some of them might even occupy this noble chamber even as they debate issues about Guyana’s forward thrust.”
Delivering remarks at the opening was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson Jr. He charged the young parliamentarians to see fora as these not only as opportunity to channel their energies toward their ambition and personal goals but also opportunity to learn and grow, and to start immerse them themselves in the understanding of what’s the right pathways for them.
