Castries, Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia is all set to host Youth Parliament for September 25 and 27, 2023. The two days sitting of the assembly is aimed to enhance the participation of the young generations in the nation building.
The government of Saint Lucia also hosted training sessions for the Youth Parliamentarians for 2023 Youth Parliament sitting. The training session was conducted by Lisa Dublin founder of the Speak with Confidence Program.
Speaker of the House, Claudius J. Francis also spoke on several issues of the Parliament of Saint Lucia including provisions of Standing Orders.
“The Youth Parliament has been an annual feature since 1993, some things have changed and some remain the same. For this cohort, we are doing training with a mixture of some from last year’s and some brand-new ones and this is what we have asked them to do. It is always better to have a blend of the old, the young, and the experience. We discussed the history of Parliament, its structure, and procedures in moving a bill to become an Act of Parliament, ” Francis said.
The House Speaker said he has confidence the Young Parliamentarians will deliver at a high level.
” I thought, if we are looking towards the youth why not give them an actual bill that we would have debated at the higher level. In 2022 they debated the Domestic Violence Bill which we debated last year as well. Coming out of the Youth Parliament we were of the view that it was so good that some of the points that were made by the Youth Parliamentarians we have considered them with a view into incorporating them into the Domestic Violence Bill, ” Francis added.
The Youth Parliamentarians were also given pointers by Senate President Alvina Reynolds on Parliamentary Procedure while Clerk of Parliament Esmaline Cox watched over a rehearsal for the proposed opening of the sitting.
The Youth Parliament will enhance the capacities of the young generation in several fields of professionalism. It will also enhance their career opportunities.
