Young Adults Speak Up...

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday April 20, 2006 13:50 by Jessica Lauren

But is anyone listening?

This article is submitted by Jessica Lauren

Age: 15 (16 next week)

(c) Evening Echo, Cork

In an age obsessed with political correctness it should be unthinkable that any sector of society can be negatively stereotyped with impunity or denied basic social needs and rights such as the right to socialise and congregate. It should also be unthinkable that they can be dismissed or derided if they speak up or protest about this.

Yet this is in fact the situation of young people in the early 21st century.

It would be illegal to treat people like this on grounds of race or gender and it would be wholly unacceptable if they were elderly. Imagine talk of banning flat caps because young people thought they made old men look intimidating, or eradicating handbags because women might hit people with them.

This sense of being second-class citizens was the general feeling expressed at the Skibbereen Youth Forum called on Tuesday 11th April, instigated by Jackie Cotter, local resident, after listening to concerns of some local so-called ‘boy racers’ and realising that these concerns were merely symptomatic of a much wider issue in the area.

The forum was attended by a variety of young people aged 12-18. The panel consisted of a Gardaí representative, several parents, a freelance journalist, one local councillor, representatives of Foróige, the West Cork Arts Centre and some affiliated youth workers, and one youth representative from the floor who was asked at the last minute to join the panel.

The points which were raised very vocally and articulately by the young people were as follows:

1.Trying to socialise is a catch-22 situation, because a group of young people gathered together are usually assumed to be up to no good and asked to move on. There are however very few places for young people to go.

2.There are very few facilities for young people just to socialise. There is a small sports centre which has a small gym and clubs of various sports. There are some sports teams such as the rowing club and the GAA. There are also art and drama activities at the West Cork Arts Centre.These are however niche interests and they are not for everyone. Also, the predominant norms of youth culture mean that organised art and drama are considered to be hopelessly uncool by a lot of young people and are often seen as an extension of school.

3.The lack of underage events and venues.

The positive suggestions made by the youths were as follows:

1.A proposition for a skateboarding facility.

2.A dedicated facility such as a youth café where youngsters can socialise without being hassled.

3.A ‘battle of the bands’ event and more facilities for local bands to rehearse.

4.The desirability of facilities such as a cinema or swimming pool.

5.The desire to clean up the environment, particularly the Ilen River.

The teenagers told the truth very genuinely from their point of view, but it seemed that they got little back other than a list of reasons why the suggestions they made were not feasible, such as that there were no premises or that insurance was too expensive. Whilst some panel representatives were encouraging, the general feedback from some authority figures was that the meeting was negative in its tone, and the journalist present indicated later that coverage would be unlikely because of this. It would seem, however, more likely that these people were affronted that the teenagers had told the truth and that they were critical of the authorities and their elders. Conversely, the young people felt it was a positive meeting precisely because they had told the truth as they experienced it. What is the point of speaking up if what you say is dismissed because it is critical? This would seem to be a suppression of free speech.

UK Initiatives show that it is cost-effective to provide adequately for young people as negative consequences are avoided, and two large local studies support the points of view expressed by teenagers in Skibbereen.

The Douglas Active Teens Association surveyed 350 young people aged 9-18, the Gardaí, parents and teachers. The conclusions they reached were:

a…There is no designated space in the modern built environment for young people. The old adage that you should ‘make your own entertainment’ is no longer feasible in reality because there is nowhere acceptable for teenagers to do so. The main problem is that the modern environment is consumer-orientated and based on profit, and there is not much money to be made from youngsters.

b….Young people find that if they congregate they are treated as a threat, hassled and incessantly asked to move on. This leads to a tendency for teenagers to gather in out-of-the-way areas where they are then targeted by drug pushers.

c….The overwhelming consensus was that there is a need for a pleasant, safe place for young people just to ‘be’ if they wish.

d…..Facilities for activities are certainly needed, but they are not everything. Youth is an issue for the whole community.

A survey in Macroom in 2006 by the Diocesan Council had similar findings as did one undertaken by Transition Year students at Mercy Heights Secondary School, Skibbereen.

The government’s National Children’s Strategy stresses the importance of consultation with young people. This is obviously worthless if you then dismiss what they say because you don’t like what you hear. The American social commentator Fred Dutton had a point when he said that a society which does not value its young has no future. Perhaps it would also be worth remembering that we are the voters of the future.