3 July 1997 Edition
Young people speak out
By Eoin O'Broin
Young People in West Belfast are starting to make their voices heard. Following Sinn Fein's conference ``Anti-Social Behaviour - A Community Response'' held last February in Twinbrook, West Belfast, a group of young people set up a new project, Young Tongues, providing a platform for the views of local youth.
The Young Tongues project is working towards establishing a community-wide Youth Forum to take part in all the various areas of decision-making which affect young peoples lives.
The first step towards this aim was the hosting of the ``Speak Your Piece'' conference in Whiterock on 21 June. Speaking to An Phoblacht Martina McCafferty , one of the facilitators of Young Tongues said, ``The primary focus was to offer young people an opportunity to develop the idea of a community youth forum for West Belfast''.
During the conference delegates discussed a wide range of issues from anti-social behaviour and ``vigilantism'' to unemployment and the lack of local youth facilities. The conference also saw a video made by the young organisers, in which they canvassed the opinions and ideas of other young people on the important issues of the day.
Afterwards conference organisers Lean Mulholland, Louise Beck, Aine Fryers and Roisin Byrne spoke about the need for a Youth Forum. ``It's needed because young people just aren't being listened to'', said Beck. ``The aim of the project is to let adults see that we can behave responsibly'', said Byrne.
Looking to the future, Beck said that the ``immediate aim is to get more young people involved in the group and convince our adults to start treating us as equals''.
For further information on the Young Tongues project contact the Falls Community Centre at Belfast 202030.
Young People in West Belfast are starting to make their voices heard. Following Sinn Fein's conference ``Anti-Social Behaviour - A Community Response'' held last February in Twinbrook, West Belfast, a group of young people set up a new project, Young Tongues, providing a platform for the views of local youth.
The Young Tongues project is working towards establishing a community-wide Youth Forum to take part in all the various areas of decision-making which affect young peoples lives.
The first step towards this aim was the hosting of the ``Speak Your Piece'' conference in Whiterock on 21 June. Speaking to An Phoblacht Martina McCafferty , one of the facilitators of Young Tongues said, ``The primary focus was to offer young people an opportunity to develop the idea of a community youth forum for West Belfast''.
During the conference delegates discussed a wide range of issues from anti-social behaviour and ``vigilantism'' to unemployment and the lack of local youth facilities. The conference also saw a video made by the young organisers, in which they canvassed the opinions and ideas of other young people on the important issues of the day.
Afterwards conference organisers Lean Mulholland, Louise Beck, Aine Fryers and Roisin Byrne spoke about the need for a Youth Forum. ``It's needed because young people just aren't being listened to'', said Beck. ``The aim of the project is to let adults see that we can behave responsibly'', said Byrne.
Looking to the future, Beck said that the ``immediate aim is to get more young people involved in the group and convince our adults to start treating us as equals''.
For further information on the Young Tongues project contact the Falls Community Centre at Belfast 202030.