Dear Editor,
On Tuesday, November 19, 2013 I had the opportunity to attend a forum at the UWI Undercroft hosted by the UWI Mona Guild of Students and National Integrity Action in honour of International Students' Day. The panellists for this forum included Members of Parliament Damion Crawford and Dr Dayton Campbell, G2K President Floyd Green, former G2K President Warren Newby, and Guild President Terron Dewar.
I found it to be well-attended and, for the most part, informative. The theme for this forum was "Youth at the Helm: A New Paradigm of Leadership". As the panellists, all of whom were executives of the UWI Mona Guild Council, made the opening remarks they pointed to different reasons why young people have refrained from assuming the helm of leadership.
I have summarised the reasons for this problem in the following:
1. Our apathy, which is caused in part by demotivation and lack of confidence in our political leaders to properly address the needs of the people.
2. Our desire to cash in and seize opportunities to achieve economic success which often leads young people to go overseas and prevent them from active involvement in national affairs.
3. Our seeming lack of patriotism, which equates to a lack of passion for the holistic development of the country.
In my estimation, patriotism is one of the best qualities that any well-thinking young person can possess. Patriotism does not simply entail loving Jamaica and touting Brand Jamaica during the Olympics or the World Championships, or when trying to impress the tourists, or when Tessanne Chin appears on The Voice. Patriotism also entails each Jamaican, young and old, making active, healthy and positive contributions to the development of the country. It entails having enough passion for this country to comment on the issues that affect the country and to demand the policies to alleviate the issues that face the country. Whenever one speaks about the issues, one must not do it solely for the sake of sounding intelligent, or to signal any political ambitions or intentions, but as a testament of one's passion for national development, which, in my view, is one of the hallmarks of patriotism.
Therefore, in order to herald that new paradigm of leadership, we need to strike down apathy among young people and we need a renaissance of Jamaican patriotism and to actively advocate for the policies and laws to put our country in the right direction. That way, it is hoped that more opportunities can be created locally for us to take advantage of and contribute actively as young people, as the leaders of not just tomorrow, but even today.
Markel Virgo
markel.virgo@gmail.com
The youth need true patriotism
-->
On Tuesday, November 19, 2013 I had the opportunity to attend a forum at the UWI Undercroft hosted by the UWI Mona Guild of Students and National Integrity Action in honour of International Students' Day. The panellists for this forum included Members of Parliament Damion Crawford and Dr Dayton Campbell, G2K President Floyd Green, former G2K President Warren Newby, and Guild President Terron Dewar.
I found it to be well-attended and, for the most part, informative. The theme for this forum was "Youth at the Helm: A New Paradigm of Leadership". As the panellists, all of whom were executives of the UWI Mona Guild Council, made the opening remarks they pointed to different reasons why young people have refrained from assuming the helm of leadership.
I have summarised the reasons for this problem in the following:
1. Our apathy, which is caused in part by demotivation and lack of confidence in our political leaders to properly address the needs of the people.
2. Our desire to cash in and seize opportunities to achieve economic success which often leads young people to go overseas and prevent them from active involvement in national affairs.
3. Our seeming lack of patriotism, which equates to a lack of passion for the holistic development of the country.
In my estimation, patriotism is one of the best qualities that any well-thinking young person can possess. Patriotism does not simply entail loving Jamaica and touting Brand Jamaica during the Olympics or the World Championships, or when trying to impress the tourists, or when Tessanne Chin appears on The Voice. Patriotism also entails each Jamaican, young and old, making active, healthy and positive contributions to the development of the country. It entails having enough passion for this country to comment on the issues that affect the country and to demand the policies to alleviate the issues that face the country. Whenever one speaks about the issues, one must not do it solely for the sake of sounding intelligent, or to signal any political ambitions or intentions, but as a testament of one's passion for national development, which, in my view, is one of the hallmarks of patriotism.
Therefore, in order to herald that new paradigm of leadership, we need to strike down apathy among young people and we need a renaissance of Jamaican patriotism and to actively advocate for the policies and laws to put our country in the right direction. That way, it is hoped that more opportunities can be created locally for us to take advantage of and contribute actively as young people, as the leaders of not just tomorrow, but even today.
Markel Virgo
markel.virgo@gmail.com
The youth need true patriotism
-->