EDLS Students Present at Youth Parliament
EDLS extends hearty congratulations to incoming Year 2 students Megan Curry and Jayel Gibson who represented us at the Youth Parliament over the summer break. The Bahamas Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association hosted the 41st Conference of the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region on July 22-30, 2016, and the Youth Parliament, now in its 16th year, is an integral part of the conference. The youth session takes the form of a regular session of Parliament and involves a debate on a resolution drafted by the Parliament of The Bahamas.
During the session, participants presented on this year’s topic, ‘Globalization’, from different perspectives. Megan and Jayel are grateful for the training sessions conducted by Mr. David Forbes, Deputy Conference Coordinator and Chair of the Youth Parliament. “Mr Forbes provided us with a lot of insight. He assisted us with the delivery of our speeches and taught us Parliamentary procedure so that the experience could be as authentic as possible.”
Megan is interested in pursuing a career in environmental or financial services law and took the opportunity to explore globalization from an environmental standpoint by demonstrating the link between the health of the environment and the health of our tourism-based economy. “I chose to participate because I am the proudest Bahamian ever,” she said. “I also looked at the experience as an opportunity to practice my advocacy skills.”
Jayel, is grateful to Megan for encouraging her to participate in the Youth Parliament. Her speech looked at issues currently facing Caribbean economies. “I was surprised by how much The Bahamas has in common with the Caribbean community,” she said. “Young people from countries throughout the region participated in the Youth Parliament, and it was interesting to hear their perspectives and to realize that we are not that different. The experience also presented us with fantastic networking opportunities”
Megan and Jayel thoroughly enjoyed the experience and encourage other students to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them at the Eugene Dupuch Law School. Both credit participation in extracurricular activities for helping them to find the balance needed to successfully navigate the rigorous curriculum.
EDLS Principal, Tonya Bastian Galanis is proud of our students’ accomplishments. “Our staff works tirelessly to provide enriching opportunities and personalized experiences in a supportive learning environment. We thoroughly enjoy seeing students mature professionally when they take advantage of these types of opportunities.”