Overseas students share views on Premier's visits
This week The Royal Gazette Youth Forum <$>chose Premier Ewart Brown’s recent visits to universities around the globe as its topic for discussion.
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The Premier’s recent college tour was a hot topic among students, with many having attended the meetings which were organised in London, England; Halifax, Canada; and Washington D.C. and Atlanta in the US.
The dinners allowed students to ask the new Government leader questions about a range of topics from Immigration to climate change — and what his Government could do for the the Island’s young people.
Alex Melvin, who is 22 and studies International Business at Kingston University, in England, attended the London meeting.
“It was obviously done for political gain, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in this case,” he said. “Having attended one, I have to say I was impressed with what they did, however, what was said is the more important thing.
“I found that the keynote speaker, Sen. Wayne Caines, was full of messages of encouragement for leaving the past behind, doing what we do best — be it sports or business — and using it to make Bermuda a better place for our children.”
Twenty-four-year-old Katura Horton-Perinchief helped organise the Washington D.C. meeting and thought it offered a great opportunity for young adults living abroad.
Katura, who represented the country in the 2004 Olympics in diving and is training in Orlando for the 2008 Olympics said: “The whole goal of these meetings is to encourage young Bermudians to return to Bermuda.
“It’s not simply a PLP meeting. Representatives from insurance companies, the Government’s human resources department, banks and other prospective employers will be in attendance.
“The whole goal of these meetings is to encourage young Bermudians to return to Bermuda.”
Going to the students in the schools was practical, she added.
“Not all students come home for Christmas break or summer vacation,” she said. “We all know the amount of time and energy the Premier has been putting into young Bermuda and I applaud his efforts. Young people have always had a voice, now we’re actually getting the opportunity to be heard.”
Law student Jennifer Panchaud, 23, attends Bristol University in England and said the meetings were a good starting point for the Government and the youth but hoped that more would be done in the future.
She said: “These meetings don’t guarantee our opinions will be taken into account or even reflected in future decisions because, at the end of the day, so many other competing factors in the decision making process come into play.
“However, as the educated youth of Bermuda, we are the ones who bear the responsibility to hold our Government, PLP or UBP, and its ministers accountable.
“So at the end of the youth tour, and throughout the expected implementation of youth programmes, I hope our youth is paying attention to what is actually being done and its results and, if we don’t like what we see, do something about it.
“The youth tour is a first step in what I hope will be a productive process.”
Akilah Beckles, who attends Queen’s University in Canada, disagreed with Jennifer and said she didn’t mind if little came of the meetings because she felt they already marked a positive step.
“If people want to get involved further, vote, join a party, create a party, run as an independent,” she suggested.
