November 10, 2008 was the sixth sitting of the Youth Parliament, which brought together the best of our youth leaders from all over Jamaica to Gordon House to debate issues critical to youth and Jamaica's future. These included violence against young people, the sexual exploitation of the young and the environment.

It was truly amazing to witness the quality of the recommendations coming out of Youth Parliament and the eloquence and passion with which they were expressed. This very special sitting of the 'House' has prompted TEENage to ponder on just how much respect the views of young people are given generally.

For starters, Jamaica has many avenues through which youth can voice their concerns and, in fact, one could conclude that Jamaica is among the top countries in the region with regards to youth involvement in the community and youth advocacy. The National Centre for Youth Development, for example, has several programmes such as the Youth Parliament, the National Secondary Students' Council and the Youth Ambassadors' Programme, which certainly give the youth a chance to be involved and have their voices heard.

But despite having a voice in Jamaica, does anyone really pay attention to what the youth are saying or are these many programmes merely ways of keeping youth occupied and out of trouble?

Youth Parliament is a case in point: with regards to the call for the establishment of a DNA database to catch repeat sexual offenders, harsher penalties for child rapists and a proper nationwide missing children alert system, will those in authority move swiftly to implement all or some of the many recommendations made?

Surely, such recommendations coming from young people in Jamaica rival those coming from many other segments of Jamaica in terms of practicality and effectiveness so it is no longer a question of whether the youth are making sense, but more about those with the power implementing these ideas.

Our nation's leaders enjoy saying, "the youth are the future" in countless speeches - from those in Government especially, to Church leaders and Community leaders but, do they really understand that maxim? If the youth are the future and many posit that the future is now, it means that now more than ever the ideas of young people need to be respected and implemented where possible. It means that the views of a Lawman Lynch, Maurice Smith, Jerron Green, Kaysia Johnson and Kemesha Kelly need to be heard at the highest level. It means that the Government must enter into serious and meaningful dialogue with the youth of the nation.

For a very long time, the young people of this nation have been making recommendations to fight the monster of crime and violence currently preying on the most innocent and defenseless facet of society. However, very few of these recommendations have been implemented and now the monster is so vicious and ruthless that it seeks its prey in even daylight without fear of apprehension. If the voices of young people are not heard now, the blood of the next Ananda Dean or Christopher Suckra will be on the hands of those who did not listen, on the hands of those who did not act!

In Parliament on Monday, Youth Prime Minister Maurice Smith and Youth Opposition Leader Jerron Green made the cry for initiatives such as the Youth Parliament to be "legitimised" and treated seriously by Government, a cry that TEENage wholeheartedly supports.

Stop giving mere lip service to our young men and women, but instead treat their ideas with the respect that they deserve. At a time when young people are gripped with fear for themselves, their mothers, their fathers, their friends, we call on the Honourable Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Minister with responsibility for Youth and the Opposition Leader to engage these young people immediately.

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