Marigot: --- The youth wing of the Collectivity of St. Martin is looking forward to installing a youth council by November 20 2008. The 23 members of the council have to come from the high schools on French side including three members from the community. A campaign will be launched at the schools next week as well as on all radio and Television stations. Students who are interested in being part of the council has to register at their schools and their will be an election at each school where the candidates will be selected. For the three persons who are no longer in the school system they are asked to register at Bade’s office located at Bord de Mer.
Terry Gumbs Assistant Director of Youths and Sports and Pricilla Bade Director of Youth Affairs are the two persons working to put the project together said Gumbs at a press conference yesterday. “The idea is to get our youths involved in what is taking place. They would have the opportunity to involve themselves in a positive way and to make their suggestions known to the senior council. Already the organizers have selected two commissions on which the junior council can work. Even though the planning is taking place at a fast pace there is no monies budgeted for the youth council to work with admitted Bade and fourth VP Louis Jeffry. He said that Territorial Council will be setting aside a budget in the 2009 budget for the new council.
Gumbs said that the objective is to get the youngsters ages 15 to 18 involve themselves positively. This would enable the youths to make their contribution towards the development of the island. “While there is always a lot done and said for the youths it is never done by the youths and so we are now making a way for the youths to actively involve themselves.” The youths would have the chance to now let the elected officials know what are the things they would like to see get done. Members of the council will come from the various high schools. A decision was taken to have seven seats taken by the Lycee, College Morne Accords will have four seats, Souliga College, four seats, French Quarter College four seats and one seat will come from the private schools. The other three members will be from students who are no longer in the school system.
Another goal and objective for the junior council is for the youths on St. Martin to be represented overseas, something that never happened in the past Gumbs said.
Those two commissions are communication and environment. For communication the junior council members would have the opportunity to produce radio and television talk shows. While they would have to work on projects related to environment.
The idea is for the youths of St. Martin to take up their role in the Collectivity in a positive way said fourth vice president Louis Jeffry. This would give them the opportunity to see how government functions since there are a number of procedures that has to be followed. Hopefully with the Junior Council we would also get a new breed of politicians said the fourth VP who is responsible for communications.
