Youths Discuss Issues that Affect Them

Today, students from various high schools gathered for a lively youth panel discussion on some heavy topics: gender-based violence, violence against women and girls, and human trafficking. This marks the fourth event organized by the Belize City Council and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as part of their Sixteen Days of Activism campaign. The goal? To hear the raw, unfiltered opinions and ideas from the youth about these critical issues. The discussion took place at Old Belize, and News Five’s Marion Ali was there to capture the event.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Today, students from various high schools came together for a dynamic panel discussion about the issues impacting their lives. Michael Fritz, one of the organizers, emphasized that hearing directly from the youth is crucial for creating better environments and improving their quality of life.

 

Micheal Fritz, Organizer, Youth Panel Discussion

“It’s an opportunity to not only hear from the young people themselves but gather students from across the city. And we do have some that are coming from out district to have this, these discussions to find out how young people can be mobilized to bring an end or decrease the occurrences of these issues. We’ve selected young people that were very passionate, very outspoken to add to the discussion. So, it’s not just – it’s an opportunity for other young people that might not be attached to the council or any other entity to be a part of this important discussion.”

 

Fritz mentioned that to get a wide range of perspectives, they also invited young people who aren’t currently in school but are still impacted by these issues.

 

Michael Fritz

“Before we had this panel, we had to go through the data collection phase, and we were circulating surveys on youth reports. And our various social media platforms and we were targeting young people ages 15 to 29 which is very much important to capture in terms of what youth is defined as.”

 

According to Councilor Kaya Cattouse, the information that is generated from the students’ concerns and views will be considered by City Hall.

 

Kaya Cattouse, Belize City Councilor, Women & Children

“We have our child advisor body or youth shadow council who we work with day in day out. And these young people are the ones who draft their plan as to how they want to move forward. So, we work with our youths and we try our best to, you know, put what they have on paper into action. If we check the report card, Belize City has been scoring very high as it relates to the child advisor body and all the social infrastructure that we have been building with our youth.”

 

Today’s youth panel formed part of the Sixteen Days of Activism. Marion Ali for News Five.