#Kingston, February 25, 2021 – The Ministry of
Education, Youth and Information is reporting that it has received a record 1,055
applications for the 2021 cohort of National Youth Parliamentarians. Since its inception in 2003, the programme has
received between 500 and 700 applications annually.
State Minister in the Ministry, Robert Nesta Morgan, told
JIS News that “the Ministry is very
excited to have a record number of applicants this year. This tells us that our youth are engaged and
want to be heard. We will continue to provide them with a platform, we will
listen and we will act on their recommendations,” he said.
The National Youth Parliament of Jamaica
(NYPJ) is structured to encourage active citizenship
among the youth and promote involvement in democracy and governance; analyse
and provide feedback from a youth perspective on statements, Ministry papers,
Green papers and Bills before the Houses of Parliament; and promote youth
mainstreaming into national policies, strategies and programmes.
Throughout their one-year tenure, the Youth Parliamentarians
will receive training in the areas of public speaking, parliamentary procedure,
policy paper writing and policy review, project management and speech writing.
Under the purview of the Youth Advisory Council of
Jamaica, they will develop work plans to focus on youth development projects in
their communities, constituencies, parishes and counties, while preparing for
the sitting of the Youth Parliament as a part of the annual Youth Month
activities in November.
After a brief hiatus, the
NYPJ was revamped in 2016 and has undergone further restructuring to ensure
that the selected parliamentarians are better able to carry out their mandate.
Release: JIS
Contact: Judith A. Hunter
Photo Credit: JIS
