Youths in minority

Nasik Swami
Thursday, September 06, 2012

THE Constitution Commission is concerned at the low number of youths turning up to present submissions.

This was revealed by commissioner Penelope Moore who said submissions from youths were vital in shaping the country's new constitution.

"The commission has received about 500 submissions altogether at this stage and out of that less than 50 submissions were made by youths under the age of 25," she said.

Ms Moore said youths had a different angle and approach to life and Fiji would be fortunate to see new and fresh ideas included in the new constitution.

She said the platform provided by the commission was a good place for youths to voice their concerns.

"Youths face a lot of problems like negligence in society, lack of respect from elders, torture and suffering and they should come forward and tell the commission what they are going through so that issues affecting them do not affect them in the future," Ms Moore said.

She said youths had the ability to make a better Fiji for everyone, so if they were not able to put forward their submissions orally they were most welcome to present them in written form or in a creative way.

"Putting forward a submission is an open process and people who are not able to talk can write a simple letter stating their views or can come up with creative methods," she said.

Ms Moore said youths had ideas that could be developed into better opportunities for the country.

"The commission is encouraging all youths to come forward and have their say," she said, adding traditional barriers could be a reason preventing youths from making their voices heard.

"Youths should understand that the submission processes to the Constitution Commission are not traditional and are done in a modern way," she said.