Dear Editor,
The 13th Sitting of the National Youth Parliament (NYP) is here and I am anticipating another round of wonderful debates. Last year was good but this year must go further and higher.
The ultimate expectation is going to take place Wednesday, November 6 at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC). The build-up is going to be very interesting and I personally am looking forward to all of the preliminaries.
Every Saturday, leading up to that date, will be used for a number of participatory events, particularly some vital training workshops. Many of our present parliamentarians and even a minister or two came through the NYP. It is a good breeding ground, irrespective of political affiliations and persuasions.
The NYP gets its major funding from donations of the business community and project partners, including the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Is this enough? I hate the idea that every now and again, NYP has to go about soliciting financial help – enough should be budgeted for the group. If we are serious about our youths, then we must cater for their political development as well.
Since the NYP is all about enabling Guyana’s youths to develop argumentative and reasoning skills, while learning tolerance and patience, then it must be invested in and it must be as broad-based as possible.
Regards,
Corrine DeFreitas