Trial Internet-based Youth Forum a success

As part of the Small Islands Voice project, being implemented by the Ministry of Environment, a trial internet-based youth discussion forum was conducted during the period of September to December 2002. The Small Islands Voice project's Young Islanders Forum saw the participation of Anse Royale Secondary School. Students from the school were able to post responses and discuss environmental and developmental issues with students from four other islands of the world, namely: St. Kitts & Nevis and Bequia (Caribbean), Palau and the Cook Islands (Pacific). The goals of the trial internet-based forum were to find out the views of the youths on living in small islands, to test the potential of an unmoderated internet-based forum among school students in six small islands, to generate discussions and useful information, and finally to promote direct interaction between youths in different islands. The forum has been a success so far; students discussed pressing youth-related issues such as drugs and alcohol, teenage pregnancy as well as the controversial issue of whaling, and also exchanged opinions on topics such as advantages and disadvantages of living on an island. During 2003, six new islands from the three regions will join the forum and five other schools in Seychelles will also have the opportunity to join the forum throughout the year.

SOURCE: Seychelles Nation, 20 January 2003