Government plans a national service for young adults
By Ruth O'Kelly-Lynch
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Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and UBP leader Kim Swamn at the convening of the Legislature yesterday.
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Photo by Tamell Simons
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Government plans to introduce a programme of national service for young adults, it was revealed yesterday.
Outlining its legislative plan for the forthcoming year in the Throne Speech, Government said it wanted to "reawaken" qualities in the people of Bermuda through the scheme.
The plan was one of the major announcements in the Throne Speech which also said:
l Gambling will be fully debated and Government will introduce a Green Paper on the subject containing "dispassionate research"
l Legislation will be adopted to prevent health insurance companies from "discriminatory practices" against seniors
l Amendments will be made to the Human Rights Act "to ensure that no person is discriminated against"
l Government will create a Visa Waiver Assistance Programme to encourage Bermudians to stay off the list US Stop List and provide assistance to those requiring visas to enter the US
l Portuguese will be taught in public schools
l A state of the art recording studio will be established to nurture local talent
l People released on bail will now be electronically tagged and the sentence for robbery will be increased
l The Commission on Unity and Racial Equality will undergo a thorough review
Unveiling the national service plan yesterday, Governor Sir Richard Gozney, who read the speech on behalf of Government, said: "In this 400th anniversary year of the settlement of these Islands, our national discourse has been dominated by events that mark this impressive milestone.
"As a people born out of adversity and whose beginnings are a simple human story of collaboration, basic teamwork and unfailing character, the Government intends to reawaken these qualities in the people of Bermuda through a programme of national service.
"It was Martin Luther King Jr, who told us 'Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?'"
Sir Richard added: "This initiative will require Bermudian young men and women to actively participate in mentoring the youth and committing to the provision of work experience designed to expose our youth to the rigours of the working world thereby permitting sound career choices and the early acquisition of those skills required to make our youth undeniable assets to a broad range of employers."
It is not known if the service will be mandatory, or how it will be implemented and it is expected that those details will be revealed at a press conference next week.
Last night the plan met with mixed results from people contacted by The Royal Gazette.
Political commentator Larry Burchall said with Bermuda's high literacy rate and impressive educational infrastructure it was hard to see how forced mentoring would be beneficial.
"National service has long been in the PLP's plans," he said. "It is something they need to explore."
But he questioned if "throwing more people at the problem" was a good idea, citing the large Ministry of Education and high teacher student ratio as illustrations that Bermuda had a "plethora" of people supporting the youth of Bermuda.
"If this were a country with a low literacy rate then fine, grab the college students by the scruff of the neck and get them into the classrooms to teach people to read, but that is not Bermuda. The Mincy Report [a study on young black males released Monday] outlined that the problem with our young men starts before they get into the classroom.
"I don't know if a national service of mentoring would produce the results you would want."
Carlton Simmons, director of Youth on the Move, a charity aimed at providing young people with life skills enabling them to become productive members of society, as well as get them on track to starting their own businesses, said he hoped the plan was not another ill-conceived scheme which would not meet the needs of today's youth.
"Anytime Government does something that helps young people we are happy," he said. "But we hope this is not another programme that does not work well with the youth of Bermuda. I would have liked to see more consultation with young people about what type of national service is needed and what the goals are.
"And what does this mean? Will they start penalising young people if they do not do national service?
"Instead of implementing a programme that will cost a lot of money and might not work Government should work with organisations like ours to find out what the needs of young people are and reach out to them. Often young people do not respond to Government programmes."
Last night opposition United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan said the Throne Speech had fallen short of many people's expectations, particularly as the Premier had touted it as being "bold".
"Bermuda is simply being treated to wave after wave of spin from this Premier; to words without meaning," he said.
"The reality is that this island's economy — and the jobs it provides all of our people — is under attack by recession, overseas jurisdictions and internal inefficiencies and waste. But there is nothing, nothing in this Throne Speech about the economy."
Founding member of the Bermuda Democratic Alliance Michael Fahy said they would be consulting with members before giving a reaction to the speech, adding: "It is important not to react in a knee jerk fashion — instead we shall analyse the potential impact of the proposals in the Throne Speech on Bermuda and make some positive suggestions that could see all of Bermuda benefit."
