Scores Expected to Attend Youth Forum on Friday

Scores of students are expected to participate in the annual Youth Forum, scheduled for Friday (November 2) at the St. Andrew Parish Church Hall, 16 Ellesmere Road.                

The event, organised by the National Child Month Committee (NCMC), will get underway at 9:00 a.m.

To be held under theme: ‘Jamaica 50: Let’s Celebrate Our Children,’ the forum will include presentations from the Wolmer’s Girls and Penwood High Schools on the topic:‘Care and Protection for our Children during the Past 50 years’, while St. George’s College and Ardenne High School will be looking at the topic: ‘Recognition and Celebration of the Achievements of Our Children during the Past 50 Years’.                 

Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, is schedule to bring greetings, while Principal of Wolmer’s School for Girls, Colleen Montague, will be the guest speaker.   

The annual Youth Forum is one of several activities organised by the NCMC to mark Child Month. It provides an avenue for children to voice their views on issues that affect them.  

“Children should be encouraged to express their ideas about issues that affect them and the environment must be created for children to learn about their rights and   responsibilities and also how to overcome challenges that impede their success," said Chair of the NCMC, Dr. Pauline Mullings, in an interview with JIS News.

Initially a Child Month activity in May, the Youth Forum was moved to November as the NCMC is committed to organising year-long activities geared towards the nation’s children as well as for the observance of National Youth Month.    

The NCMC, instituted in 1953, brings together a number of agencies working with and on behalf of children in an effort to focus on their needs, and heighten public awareness on the relevant issues affecting the nation’s children.