Simpson Bay- On Saturday August 12th, 2017 The United Nations celebrated International Youth Day with the theme “Youth Building Peace”. International Youth Day 2017 was dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace.
Our aim as Red Cross St. Maarten and the Red Cross St. Maarten Youth Chapter is to promote and encourage volunteerism amongst our teens of the various schools on the island and young people as a whole.
A press release from the St. Maarten Red Cross stated that, “As the youth arm of the Red Cross St. Maarten we are delighted to be part of this commemoration for 2017 on International Youth Day. We are excited of the opportunity to celebrate together the enthusiasm, the creativity and the energy of youth throughout the world and especially St. Maarten. There is large amount of untapped potential and talent in our young people and it is important to give them the right tools to express their opinions and unlock their potential.”
In this rapid change that is taking place in the world with the assistance of social media, which have caused overwhelming effects in both lifestyle and politics. In the Youth Policy, the goals of the Red Cross International is to strengthen the contribution of teens and young people by providing them with the opportunity to be engaged as active members and volunteers.
The Red Cross release further stated that during the past years their Youth Chapter members have been working closely together with the adult members of the branch in various trainings such as the annual hurricane exercise, disaster simulation training as well as going into the High Schools to promote the Red Cross purpose. “We are also looking at taking the lead in introducing programs that will be catered for youths and the community in other areas such as; bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, relationship violence and abuse.”
The impact of the successful implementation of this policy is expected to be a growth in the numbers of young people involved with National Societies, and a growth in those staying on with them as adults. National Societies’ activities and measures involving youth, and the number of youth in their governance and leadership positions are also expected to grow. Youth will be engaged in high quality and high impact activities that contribute to the building of stronger National Societies.
Let us continue to support and protect our young people and give them the necessary tools they need to change the world.
