The official Opening of the Youth Parliament of Bermuda took place at the Sessions House in Hamilton on 25th November 2009.

Acting as Youth Speaker of the House was Russell Lister; present were Youth Parliament President, Samuel Bean; Youth Premier, Jacari Brimmer-Landy; Youth Opposition Leader, Eoin McMahon; and the Honourable Dr. Ewart F. Brown, Premier of Bermuda, and the Honourable Kim Swan, Opposition Leader.

The ceremony began with the Sergeant at Arms notifying us of the arrival of the Premier, following which, the Youth Speaker of the House called the house to order by reciting the Lord's Prayer.

The first order of business was the announcement of the Youth Parliament Officers for 2009-2010 by Samuel Bean, the Youth Parliament President.

Then the Youth Premier, Jacari Brimmer-Landy, delivered the Throne Speech touching on the goals of the Youth Parliament of Bermuda.

He outlined these as:

1) "To increase awareness and understanding of young people on parochial and national matters that affect their lives";

2) "To encourage young people to participate in the decision making processes that affect Bermuda";

3) "To develop the skills and understanding of young people in parliamentary practices and procedures";

4) "To provide practical experiences in the organisation, structure, administration and conduct of parliamentary debate";

5) "To increase awareness and understanding of role and responsibilities of Governments in community life";

6) "To provide a forum for young people to express their views on issues and legislation under consideration by both houses of the legislature."

After the Throne Speech, Dr. Brown gave his remarks on the Youth Parliament of Bermuda shortly before taking questions from Members of Youth Parliament.

Some of the questions posed to him were: "The Government supports football and cricket as national sports, but will it support other sports, like hockey, and debate also?" and "what are your proposals to solve the issues in the education system?"

To the question, "What is the Government planning to do about gang violence in Bermuda?", Dr. Brown replied: "Gang violence is something that destroys life every day.

"It is senseless violence fuelled by drugs, and drug lords use the gang structure to improve the sales of their drugs.

"Young people join gangs because they want to find something that they can identify with, something bigger than they are. The symptoms of gang violence were spotted many years ago, and the need for firm steps was identified. However it took a long time for the government to agree on which steps needed to be taken.

"Now the government has agreed on the use of a double-pronged approach, using a tough stance and a softer stance. For those gang members that break the law, the tough stance is taken.

"For those who will still respond to the softer touch, there are programmes, like the Mirrors programme, that deal with them.

"Also the community needs to take some responsibility. For example, there were 100 people at a recent shooting, but no one will come forward and testify. The community needs to look out for itself before the gang problem goes beyond criminals to everyday people."

Once the questions to the Premier ceased, the Honourable Kim Swan gave his remarks to the Youth Parliament, followed by a vote of thanks by the Youth Opposition Leader, Eoin McMahon.

The session closed when the Youth Speaker of the House called a motion to adjourn that was seconded and Members adjourned to refreshments in the atrium.