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PM urges youth to be innovative
Posted On 10 Mar 2015
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PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is urging this country’s young citizens to embrace innovation and use it to develop this country. In her Commonwealth Day 2015 message, the Prime Minister observed this year’s celebration has a very relevant theme, “A Young Commonwealth.”
“While in the past, young would have referred to an almost aspirational state, with energy but inexperience, and passion but with a need for focus, it is clear that such a reference has taken on an entirely new meaning in the 21st century,” she said.
As a “young democracy and a youthful independent nation, Persad-Bissessar said, “Our youth has been punctuated by numerous growing pains that have taken us to the very heights and depths of the developmental experience.”
Observing that collectively, 50 percent of the Commonwealth’s population is comprised by young persons aged 25 or younger, Persad-Bissessar said it is imperative that “we must continue to support them because whereas in the past they were seen as the future, they are now the present.”
Acknowledging that young people “are today the ones who are taking their place to lead another generation in the years to come,” Persad-Bissessar said she is pleased that the promotion of this country’s young people has been one of her administration’s “cardinal priorities” over the last five years.
She said “our young citizens have reminded us of the significance of zeal and innovation. They have reminded us that, while we look to our history for guidance, we must not allow it to be a cemented template for our future,” Persad-Bissessar added, “Most importantly, they have helped us to recall the power of communication and interconnectivity and how it relates to the human condition.
“While there are several criticisms we can levy against the hypnotising qualities of advancing technologies, the unifying powers they possess cannot be denied and it is this connectivity that has kept the family of Commonwealth nations strong,” she declared.
Reiterating Government’s commitment to this country’s young people, Persad-Bissessar said, “For our young people, in Trinidad and Tobago and in the Commonwealth, their time has come, and it is our duty to ensure they take their place as new leaders.”
