On April 28th, three of our first-year students attended the Islands Youth Parliament held at Glenlyon Norfolk Secondary School. The weekend-long event saw them, along with other high schoolers, learn what it is like to be in parliament, including debating bills and procedures and serving in a cabinet. Below are three excerpts from Jeremiah, Alicia and Silvia on how it went and what they learned:
Jeremiah Kalekyezi (YR 49/2024, Guyana)
“The Islands Youth Parliament was a three-day event, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. We debated bills formulated from topics important to us in this day and age as youth on Vancouver Island, like climate change and food security. These debates were held according to parliamentary procedure to better teach us about the legislative systems we have in British Columbia. It was a special one for me personally as I had the honour of being the Premier and leading cabinet. In the future, I hope to take the leadership experience I earned that day and apply it to the upcoming British Columbia Youth Parliament, which I may be attending for the second time. Youth Parliaments are always a fun experience, but the Islands Youth Parliament was even better because I got to do it with some fellow Pearson students. They were keen on the opportunity, Silvia drafting a bill and Alicia being an amazing critic. I truly felt proud of them as my friends and colleagues and do hope to see them at British Columbia Youth Parliament as well.”
Alicia Yang (YR 49/2024, Canada-QC)
“At the Islands Youth Parliament, we practiced parliamentary debate, learned the process of policy-making and discovered the variety of challenges that may arise when creating policies. During our three extensive days, we developed the skill of expressing ourselves by analyzing others’ arguments and making our own. We had several good laughs as we could choose some of the topics to debate, and the arguments that followed were quite entertaining. At the end of the event, I left with a few more friends, knowledge of how to parallel park, a lot of experience and long-lasting memories!”
Silvia Lungu (YR 49/2024, Moldova)
“I enjoyed every phase of this experience as it made me leave my comfort zone and develop. As Minister of Agriculture, I had to draft a Bill. This process was not easy for me because I was unfamiliar with British Columbia and Canada’s legislative system and rules. Moreover, the structure and the content of law here are relatively different from those in the Republic of Moldova. However, by reading and drafting the Bill, I broadened my horizon of knowledge and experience. Due to this, the process of presenting and defending during the debates the Bill I drew was a pleasure for me. It was an intense debate, I had to defend the lines and sections of my Bill with confidence and strong arguments. On the other hand, I had to be open to changes and accept the amendments when they were justified. Besides this, IYP gave me the opportunity to get to know other young people passionate about law, politics, and service. We had a great time not only during the sessions but also between them and after. The interesting conversations we had and the time we spent together united us and made this experience even more amazing. It was three productive, special, and memorable days.”