PRIME MINISTER Patterson has endorsed plans by the Millennium Youth Congress for the formation of a National Youth Organisation, to embrace the activities of the several youth groups in Jamaica.
The Prime Minister gave his support as he met a delegation of Millennium Youth Congress Secretariat, at Jamaica House on Tuesday.
He told the delegation that youth formed a significant element of the population and that with changes in communications and technology, they must be afforded the opportunity to express themselves and become meaningfully involved in national development.
He said that it was essential to the nation that the accumulated experiences of the older generation, to be fused with the vision and restless energies of the young.
In urging the group to become involved in his recently announced re-development programme for inner cities, the Prime Minister said the youth must help to focus the nation's attention on the potential of young people, to become a force for good and to bring about desired changes in the society.
The main objective of the Millennium Youth Congress, which is the first of its kind in Jamaica, is to bring about a greater awareness of the role of youth and students organisations in National Development and to strengthen local, national, regional and international organisations, in their search for self-development and nation-building.
The congress will bring together young people from across Jamaica and the Caribbean, to discuss issues affecting youth and make recommendations towards social and economic development.
