The Sint Maarten Youth Roundtable Conference, under the theme ‘MY Participation Matters’, was successfully held on March 3, 2022. The virtual event featured an all-youth cast of dynamic speakers, presenters, and performers from Sint Maarten.
The Department of Youth, in collaboration with UNICEF the Netherlands, hosted the event virtually. This was due to the high number of active Covid-19 cases. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the event was well attended. In addition to being live-streamed to the public, an estimated 200 registered students participated through ‘virtual satellite locations’ set up at eight participating secondary schools. Students could share their opinions and feedback through quizzes and messaging applications.
The conference is part of the Department of Youth’s efforts to promote youth participation and develop a youth mainstreaming strategy for the government apparatus in general. Ideally, this will eventually lead to institutionalised systems through which youth can influence policies and programs that affect them.
