April 30, 2012Dear Sir,I refer to today’s lead article ‘The Royal Gazette launches ($1million) campaign to boost Mirrors’ and most strongly commend your company for so practically lending its critically important support to what seems certain to provide a both wholly positive and lasting legacy for the betterment of Bermuda. I totally agree that New Beginnings has all of the hallmarks of a vitally important initiative embracing all that can potentially provide nothing but good where nothing but bad was otherwise perceived, and also agree that former Premier Dr Ewart Brown is rightfully entitled to any and all commendations the result of his ground-breaking inspiration with regard to the Mirrors programme.Thankfully there are other youth oriented programmes also in train similarly grounded in the principles of positive development for our young people. For example, Raleigh Bermuda, Outward Bound, Bermuda Sloop Foundation, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Sea Cadets, etc, all of which would go a very long way towards complementing the positive development of each and every one of our young people, if only they were automatically required to participate in at least one such organisation during their formative years. (I understand that Singapore, which is reputedly a model of positive behaviour) automatically requires that each one of its young people must complete an Outward Bound programme as a form of National Service.In that regard, can we imagine how Bermuda would instead be today if every one of our young people had automatically been required to positively participate in at least one accredited youth programme as part of their own ‘Rite of Passage’ into adulthood? How many of our jail cells would now be empty instead of full if we only had the vision, guts and initiative to accept that society owes it to each and every one of our young people to educate them in critically essential character building above all else? If only we collectively were willing to follow the University of Waterloo’s example, “First build good character, and good results will follow”, we could then look to the future with pride in the satisfaction of a job well done for the benefit of each and every one of our young people, and thereby be confident that despite everything that life can still throw at them in the way of challenges, they will nevertheless truly be best equipped to overcome them to the very best of their ability!TED GAUNTLETTSomerset