YOUTH LEADERS EMPOWERED TO FOSTER CHANGE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES
KINGSTON, November 28 (JIS):
The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development staged its inaugural Youth Councillors’ Forum in Manchester recently, where youth mayors and councillors got the opportunity to learn about the local government process and the operations of agencies under the Ministry.
The forum, held at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, was part of activities in observance of Local Government and Community Month in November under the theme ‘Local Government at Work: Facing the Future Together’.
It included presentations from a panel, which included Permanent Secretary, Marsha Henry-Martin, and representatives of key agencies under the Ministry such as the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), Board of Supervision, Social Development Commission (SDC), and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).
Topics covered included strengthening participatory governance, local economic development initiatives, community disaster preparedness, environmental sustainability, and standards for better governance.
The objective of the forum was to empower the young mayor and councillors, selected from schools across the island, to become catalysts for change in their communities.
Deputy Executive Director, SDC, Omar Frith, who highlighted the agency’s focus on community development through sports, and social, economic and cultural initiatives, encouraged the youth leaders to seek guidance and mentorship from persons who are working in the local government space.
“Learn from them how they relate to their constituents; learn from them how they craft responses, because the policy measures will [develop], will come from the consultations you would have had with the people,” he noted.
Acting Director General of the ODPEM, Richard Thompson, advised the young people to build their leadership and organisational skills by getting involved with clubs and groups within their schools.
He encouraged them to share what they learn during the forum with their peers so that they can also have a better understanding of the local government process and help to influence their communities as well.
