The Minister for Gozo Dr Anton Refalo has officially inaugurated the new office of the Gozo Youth Council, located in Enrico Mizzi Street, Victoria.

The Minister stressed that a substantial cost for the Government goes towards youth education. “This is because such an expense is not a whim but an investment in the future of our country.”

“For any strategy or Governmental policy to be successful, it must be based on concrete evidence, on experience and knowledge about the values and attitudes of young people. Such an exercise does not involve simply collecting statistics – although one always has to start from such an exercise – but also requires that young people be encouraged to participate actively in society by enhancing the visibility of the young,” the Minister said.

There was therefore the need to set up a Gozo Council representing young people, to achieve this goal. Dr Refalo stated, “through the establishment of the Youth Council, for young people who are the future of our country, we are fulfilling another promise made by this Government to really give our young people a voice and to contribute to the development of Gozo.”

He added that this covers several areas “such as education and training, employment and business, health, voluntary activities, social inclusion, creativity and culture.”

Dr Refalo said that from the very beginning of this legislature, he began meeting with stakeholders to understand more the needs of young people in Gozo. “We all know that Gozo has particular needs, which needs special treatment, due to Gozo’s double insularity.We need to be pro-active and promote politics which take care of everyone’ needs.”

“The Regional Youth Council aims to be an effective voice for young Gozitans, to enable them to participate in the administration related to the, social , economic, cultural and educational aspects of the island. It also helps the Government to find an interlocutor for the sector,” the Minister said.

While the Minister congratulated the twenty entities that showed interest in joining the Youth Council, he also urged other Gozitan organisations to join the Council in the course of its work.

The Minister for Gozo concluded that he “strongly believes that young people should be involved in consultations,” adding that he “looks forward to discussions on the pertinent contemporary cases that are of interest to the socio-economic development of Gozo.”

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