Please, we don't need another lecture! That's what young people told government when the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs hosted the north leg of their nationwide youth consultations on Aug 21 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port-of-Spain.

The consultations are a key part of National Youth Month which runs to the end of August and is one medium through which the ministry hopes to get feedback from young people on the issues that affect them.

In their response to group discussions on crime, education and social mobility, youth participants called on government to listen instead of lecturing them. They said they were constantly faced with the attitude that they don’t know anything and no one wants to hear what they have to say.

They called for more training programmes and, because of overwhelming American influence, a reform of the school curriculum to introduce programmes designed around local culture.

In an immediate response, Stacy Roopnarine, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Sport & Youth Affairs said the government was prepared to take the advice.

“Young people are the heart of a country, engage them well and the country grows and flourishes” Roopnarine said.

On the issue of crime, the Humanist Association called on government to implement programmes for ex-convicts while the T&T Youth Council said that there needs to be an examination of the process and system that guides the national security policy.

Despite the poor publicity around the consultations, Karen Jaggessar and Preeta Sookhan Maharaj of The Maha Sabha Hindu Youth Organization praised the government for hosting the event, saying it offered youth groups nationwide a chance to be more organized.

The theme for the north consultation was "Juvenile Delinquency/Drug Abuse". Presentations were made by national security minister Brigadier John Sandy  as well as Minister of the People and Social Development Dr Glenn Ramadhar Singh.

It also featured a motivational speech by Michael Phillips of Phillips Promotions Company Limited, who used humour to urge youths to follow their dreams.

The event ended with performances by Eclectik and Gitta Dan.

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