Youth Ambassador Program will send youths to U.S.A.

High school students from across Belize City gathered at EP Yorke High School this afternoon for the launch of the Youth Ambassador Program 2012.  In the weeks ahead, thirteen adolescent males and females will be selected to represent Belize in the United States through an exchange initiative organized by Partners of the Americas.  The program will allow young people to engage with local government agencies and other organizations, participate in skills-based training, as well as interact with peers from other countries.  Co-coordinator Joseph Card told News Five today that the activity is geared towards strengthening the ability of youths to serve their communities and develop meaningful relationships within the region.

Joseph Card, Co-Coordinator, Youth Ambassador Program 2012

Joseph Card

“The process entails selecting thirteen young people from across the country.  Thirteen of the best young people who are academically qualified, who are qualified through their social work opportunities, who have not been to the United States before.  Those young people who are involved in the community service arena, those kinds of young people are who we are looking for to be youth ambassadors.  Once we select those young people we then take them through the process of orientation, that includes getting them their passports, getting them their visas, taking them through the orientation process to get them ready for travel and life for the three weeks while they’re in the United States.”

Eric Hayden

Eric Hayden, Public Affairs, US Dept. of State

“If I think further about the opportunities presented by this youth ambassador program I’m encouraged.  It gives you young Belizeans a chance to work on their community development skills, to build their own leadership skills and to share a little bit about their country with the Americans just like they have a chance to share, as Americans do, their own culture with the Belizeans that come to visit.  So it’s a great exchange.”

Herman Longsworth, Minister of State, Youth & Sports

Herman Longsworth

“I pledge from where I sit in the ministry every support we can muster to ensure this initiative prospers as we are committed to doing with all other initiatives that have the potential to empower the youths of Belize.”

Joseph Card

“The Belize Youth Ambassadors leave for the U.S. on August twenty-eight and return back to Belize on September eighteenth.  Upon their return to Belize, within two months thereafter, they’re supposed to implement a project here in Belize.”

The Youth Ambassadors Program is sponsored by the US Department of State and is overseen by the Belize/Michigan Partnership, a local chapter of Partners of the Americas.