Baní progresses towards creating a new citizenry
“If we can’t see the changes we want, then let us be the change”. Bani, Peravia Province.- If we ask around the city what the Children and Youth Municipality actually does we will get a lot of quick answers, because the Children and Youth Municipalities initiative in thisChild-Friendly Municipality has been developing successfully for the last 6 years. The impact of this initiative becomes evident when listening to the Municipal Mayor, Nelson Landestoy, saying that the children and young people who take part in the youth municipality “have shown adults how democracy works, a real participative democracy”. He adds that they conducted their electoral process in an enviable manner, and that “adults leave a lot to be desired”. “By becoming members of the Baní Youth Municipality, we are taking on a great commitment, which is to respect and defend every child’s point of view and rights in our community” And when we hear these words, we might think an adult was speaking, but Angel Joel Cadena, Baní’s new Youth Mayor is only 16 years old and is in Senior year. In his inauguration speech as Youth Mayor, he reiterated the Youth Municipality’s commitment to become a mouthpiece for children and adolescents. “All young people need to stop and think for a moment, look around us, and decide whether change is needed. As a result, ‘If we can’t see the changes we want, then let us become the change’. Because we are the ones who will be the agents of this change, a change that will lead us to take the reins of this country and so transform our society and make it into a wonderful place of which Dominicans will be able to say “This is called the Dominican Republic, and it is my country’”, he declared.
He also highlighted the objective they have set themselves, of “ensuring that children and adolescents’ rights are respected, and helping them to develop their potential so that in the future they can become the true leaders that our community needs”. Angel Joel and the new CYC board in Baní are part of a group of enthusiastic and committed young people, as we were able to see for ourselves during a conversation the day before they took office. They have a work plan that they will put into action immediately. Their working objectives are clear and they set them out with ease: first, to hear children and adolescents’ demands and complaints, second, to tour the municipality to see for themselves the conditions experienced by the under-18 population and third, ensure that young people who are not members of the youth council feel that they are part of it and work for themselves and for others. In the long term they plan to organise projects involving artistic activities and donated book collections, so that children can have fun contributing, so that it may be reciprocal, giving and receiving. Cultural activities, to promote group formation and exchange to the point where we all feel like brothers and sisters. They also plan to promote availability of scholarships, so that everyone can participate on an equal basis. All the residents of this municipality always express their pride in being from Baní, and Angel Joel is no exception. He tells us that he comes from a family of 5 children, that his mum is a teacher and that his father, who is a doctor, was a deputy in Congress. He said that he has dreamed of being the President of the Dominican Republic since he was a little boy, something that he expresses so naturally that it is evident that he is confident of achieving this. This is the new citizenry that becomes stronger with their participation in the Children and Youth Municipalities, providing a voice for children and adolescents and motivating their commitment to community development and municipal administration. July 2009
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