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Youth Media Guyana launches web portals

Jul 02, 2010 News

– geared at connecting secondary level students

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, Youth Media Guyana, a local youth-oriented organisation yesterday launched web portals geared at connecting secondary level students to enable their discussion of issues that foster healthy behavioural changes.
The venture which is in receipt of support from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) was unveiled at a simple forum at the Regency Suite, Hadfield Street, Georgetown, and saw the attendance of a number of students.
In acknowledging the effort that was directed towards making the venture possible UNICEF’s Representative, Dr Suleiman Braimoh, noted that the value of the internet is a known fact and is the medium of choice for fast, efficient communication. According to him, creative ways of communication through this medium are being uncovered every day.
“Just two years ago we were not twittering, now we are. Who knows what will happen tomorrow…It is important to understand that this medium, the web portals, is forever an evolving technology.”
As such he noted that in moving forward with this initiative there is a need for some amount of dynamism to be injected into the process. And the point of the process, he said, is not merely to give persons access to the internet, but rather should be aimed at transforming their knowledge into life skills.
“Information is useless if you are not translating it into something of use. Information only makes sense if you derive from it some key messages that you need to lead your life with…and I do not suggest that this should be limited to members of the youth media organisations,” Dr Braimoh added.
He further extended a challenge to the gathering advising them to use the power they generate from the portals to act as an agent for change, even as he revealed that in other societies, children have been able to make a difference in some areas such as that of sanitation.
“I would like to suggest that in moving forward with this initiative you glue into it a medium of a strategy through which you can convert the Youth Media Organisation into an agent of social behavioural change or for the betterment of children, women and indeed the whole of Guyana.”
UNICEF, he said, stands ready at all times to provide support even though it does not have a project or programme in Guyana.
“What we do is that we support Government and Civil Society based on our technical expertise and the resources we have to define what the critical development issues are in the society…”
It is the expectation of Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, that through the web portals students will be able to discuss important issues such as the dangers of tobacco use, the appropriate time for a young person’s sexual debut among other issues. It is the hope of the minister that teachers as well as parents would support the venture, even as he noted that technology has transformed and Guyana should not be left behind. The programme is geared to be channelled through health clubs in secondary schools.
In 2001 the Health Ministry kicked into motion the notion of health clubs in schools and had a target of 100 clubs by 2010. However, that objective has not yet materialised, but according to Minister Ramsammy there are about 52 active clubs. At the moment it is the hope of the Minister that by 2015 every secondary school will have a health club.
The recently introduced website is expected to build communication capacity between the Ministry of Health and the clubs. The site will be linked to the already existing Ministry of Health Website. UNICEF is expected to launch the youth media website as well.

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