With Budget Day just days away, Parliament opened its doors to the voices of the nation's youth. In a special panel discussion, young leaders and advocates voiced their concerns — from improving access to information, boosting tourism, and expanding job training, to ensuring gender equity and harnessing technology for the future.
They say the time has come for youth to be active partners in shaping the country's economic and social priorities.
00:00With Budget Day just three days away, Parliament hosted a special panel discussion to hear directly from the youth.
00:08The session, hosted by Independent Senator and Economist Dr. Marlene Atz, highlighted the importance of involving young people in shaping the country's future.
00:18We're speaking about wanting to really establish and upskill young people to be law-abiding citizens and contribute to that thing called national development.
00:28And so it starts from as early as in the classroom or even before.
00:33And so engaging us at a point where we can formulate somewhat of an opinion, I think is definitely important when it comes to what the future can look like, given that we would be the drivers then.
00:46Yet, youth advocates say current budget documents and reports aren't designed with young people in mind.
00:53For youths who aren't really versed in how to read it, they may not understand it.
00:57So sometimes you may see the infographics summarizing, but sometimes that isn't sufficient enough.
01:02So if we have things to put in place to actually explain to the young people so they can get some kind of interest, because, I mean, as a national budget, it affects the nation.
01:12And your youth, they are the future of this nation.
01:14They should be able to understand what is being imposed on us.
01:17The panelists voiced their own priorities for the nation.
01:21Many urged expansion of the on-the-job training program to three years, noting most entry-level jobs require such experience.
01:31For Jada Charles of Tobago, tourism should be a top priority.
01:35If we get that investment in the budget to boost our tourism, I feel like that would definitely help Tobago P and, you know, additionally boost our GDP.
01:45But we could see percentages go up if we have an influx of persons.
01:49We have a new airport.
01:51$400 million went into the development of that airport.
01:55So if it is we are able to get bigger flights, the airport is approximated to host around 3 million passengers yearly.
02:03So if we can get that airport up and running, we see more tourists coming to the island, coming to the country, and that would be a definite boost outside of the oil and gas sector.
02:12Youth advocates also want the government to focus on emerging industries that matter to young people.
02:19The automated automation industry, we now have a ministry of AI.
02:24Yeah, yeah.
02:25Formerly, during the pandemic especially, we had a ministry of digitization.
02:29That's right.
02:30We need to continue in those aspects.
02:32So kind of like what Chris said, we shouldn't, even with the change in administration, we shouldn't just throw away everything.
02:38But AI is also an important facet that we need to employ, especially in fields like agriculture and just moving away from the more traditional way we do things.
02:49They also raise issues affecting young women.
02:52Menstrual products, whether it be liners, tampons, pads, they are quite expensive.
02:57And this is something a female has to deal with on a monthly basis.
03:00So it's not to say that, oh, it's just a by-day way we have to purchase.
03:04This is a necessity for us in our everyday lives.
03:07So that should be taken into account, especially with taxes placed on it.
03:11They don't even distribute it in schools, which I think should be a necessity as well.
03:14Okay.
03:15Where do you get these things from?
03:17Finally, the youth called for a formal structure to ensure they remain part of decision making.
03:23We have many great youth organizations throughout the country.
03:28And sometimes what we find happening is that these organizations are sometimes competing with each other and doing bits and pieces in their little spaces.
03:36So I think having a National Youth Council that we can say, okay, this is the National Youth Council.
03:43And you get persons, the young people, grassroots level, to come and serve on these councils.
03:48So you use these councils as a buffer between young people, being the voices of young people, to advise the government of the day.
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