MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Youth Parliament and 'future lawmakers' address the Legislative Assembly

A historic day as the Falkland Islands Youth Parliament addresses the Legislative Assembly for the first time. In the picture next to Speaker Keith Biles

Members of the Falkland Islands Youth Parliament spoke in Legislative Assembly at the end of July, putting forward a motion concerning the mental health of young people in the Falklands, an issue which the Youth Parliament agreed as a group to pursue over the course of a year at the beginning of their tenures.

The motion requested, and approved, was that the mental health and wellbeing of young people and children should be recognized as an important issue for the Falklands; for FIG to commit to developing works to support young people's mental health further – for example, expanding the mental health clinician capacity in schools, improving the room available in the FICS, and producing an awareness campaign; and requesting that the Chief Executive report back to Legislative Assembly on progress within six months.

In raising the motion every member of the Youth Parliament spoke, summarizing their collective decision to focus on young people’s mental health, and the discussions they had had on this topic - among other issues- since the formation of the Youth Parliament in September 2022.

The students shared gratitude for the work already done regarding the mental health of young people, but stated that more needed to be done.

The young parliamentarians raised concern about the stigma around speaking up when having difficulties with mental health, and that the school nurse’s room is beside the reception and main entrance to the school - and offers little privacy due to both its location and gaps in the door which may allow the sound of conversation to drift out.

Availability of the school nurse, at one and a half days per week, was also raised as a concern and requested for addressing by government. To address the stigma and raise awareness of mental health concerns for young people a campaign for awareness was called for, and the Youth Parliament offered their assistance in this work. Asked by MLAs to share some examples of what they felt were concerns impacting the mental health of young people, the youth parliamentarians raised a number of issues.

Daniel Lee cited the rising cost of living and the usage of food banks, and specifically raised the question of whether low-cost school meals would be a possibility to address this.

He said also bullying was a concern, which he felt was “on the rise.” The increasing requirement of digital work was also said to be a stressor for students, with the need to sometimes stay up late to get access to online resources proving harmful.

Ramiz Rao voiced a concern that young people may face pressure to keep up with trends in fashion or technology and can face an inferiority complex due to falling behind these trends.

Mr Rao also raised the matter of this young generation’s increased awareness of the world - and their awareness of climate change, and a “world where there will be no polar bears, increased droughts, floods, food shortages and unpredictable weather patterns.”

He said that this “apocalyptic” scenario “can take a serious toll a young person’s mental health.”

Asked whether they felt the Youth Parliament should bring a motion to the House every year, Shammah Tandare said that she felt this was a good idea. She raised also the idea of appointing a Junior MLA from the Youth Parliament members.

MLA Leona Roberts commended the Youth Parliament, highlighting that “their commitment is born of a desire to bring about positive change and to make their opinions heard” and later added that “their lively discussions, enthusiasm and passion has frequently renewed my belief in humanity and given me hope for the future.” (Penguin News)