Miss Teen Bermuda has called on her generation to have more respect for one another. Alexa Lightbourne spoke of her concern that Bermuda's traditional courtesy is being eroded by a growing disrespect among young people.

She told a meeting of the Hamilton Rotary Club: "So, what is missing from our Bermudian community? It is a seven-letter word, so little but yet so profound. That word is respect. I firmly believe that our Bermudian community needs to have more respect — for self, for others and for the community."

Miss Lightbourne, 15, told the Rotary Club's weekly luncheon on Tuesday: "I wanted to share my platform speech that I presented at the Miss Teen Bermuda Islands Pageant.

"Although my platform was addressed to the youth of Bermuda, I believe that it is a message for our entire community."

She said: "Let's take the example of youth fighting in the park. What would make two people fight? It seems to me that when people fight it is because they have disrespect for one another. Respect means 'to relate, and to avoid degrading or insulting'. You may ask what can we do? We do have choices. We can walk away and take the high road. After all, nobody can fight by themselves.

"How about our seniors? What can we do to help our seniors?" she asked. "We can offer them a seat on the bus. We can open a door for them. We can even offer to help them with their groceries. These are the standards that we should be setting as the youth of Bermuda. These are the things that I try and practice whenever I can so that I can be an example to my peers and make a difference.

"What about the youth who dress inappropriately? It seems to me that they have no respect for self. Many young people have a copy-cat mentality. When the youth see their peers dressing in a particular way, they want to do the same.

"What about the community?," she asked. "I am sure that like me you have seen trash scattered along Bermuda's roads. This tells me that as Bermudians we are losing respect for our beautiful Island. We need to take better care of our Island's natural beauty. The bottom line is — we spoil our environment when we throw trash on the ground.

"What are the solutions? I believe that there are three solutions for a more respectful Bermuda. One — we must have stronger personal values, two — we must enforce respect in our educational system, and three — we must make a commitment to change. If we have stronger personal values, we can say 'no' to anything that may degrade us, even in our dress. We must set a positive example."

Miss Lightbourne, of Devonshire, said: "If we are better educated we will learn that how we dress and how we speak define who we really are. If we make a commitment to change, we will have the courage to 'just say no to any form of disrespect'.

"So remember Bermuda, we need to say 'yes' to respect for ourselves, say 'yes' to respect for others, and 'yes' to respect for our community.

"Let's take pride in ourselves Bermuda. Let's present ourselves as young people of excellence."

Miss Lightbourne said: "My goal during my reign as Miss Teen Bermuda Islands is to spread the message of respect to our community. It is my hope that organisations like the Rotary Club of Hamilton will find creative ways to get the message of respect out to our community. What can we do, you might be asking yourself? More time can be spent building respect within our schools, within our businesses and within our social organisations. There should be 'watchdog groups' that go into organisations, and to really see what is going on — in our schools, our businesses and our organisations. If we address the harmful disrespectful behaviours, hopefully we will be less inclined to disrespect each other. When I read about individuals who fail to respect the opinions of others, I am saddened. When I hear adults disrespecting the accomplishments of others, I am disappointed. I am also saddened when I hear of adults who are dishonest."

She said: "Bermuda as a whole needs to turn its full attention towards respect. Without respect, we cannot go forward as a great nation to be what God has called us to be. Bermuda can be a great nation with much more effort."

Miss Lightbourne will travel to St. Kitts to compete in the Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant on December 29.